there arrived in Washington's camp Von Steuben, a former aide-de-camp to Frederick of Prussia, who had been persuaded by the French government to cross the Atlantic as a volunteer. La Fayette and Kosciusko engaged the same year in the American cause. Steuben found the military administration at Valley Forge entrusted to departments having separate powers. In the condition of the troops he found disorder and confusion supreme. The men were only engaged for three, six, or nine months, so that it was impossible to have a regiment or a company complete. The arms were in a horrible condition. The men were literally naked. The Prussian officer set about bringing this irregular force into something like military order, with the sanction of Washington. He drafted a hundred and twenty men from the line, as a guard for the chief-in-command. He drilled them himself twice a day, and he soon made the colonels of regiments not ashamed of instructing their recruits. In the course of instruction he departed altogether from the general rule; reversing the whole system of eternal manual and platoon exercises, and commencing with

manœuvres.

The Houses met in January, 1778. On the 17th of February lord North brought in two Bills,-the first of which was a complete and utter renunciation of the right of Great Britain to impose any tax upon the American Colonies, except only such duties as it might be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce, the net produce of which was always to be applied to the use of the Colony in which the duties were levied. The second Bill was to enable the king to appoint commissioners with ample powers to treat upon the means of quieting the disorders in America; and they were authorised to treat and agree with any body or bodies politic; or any person or persons whatsoever, thus acknowledging the Congress as a legal body. On the 13th of March, a communication was made to the British Secretary of State by the French ambassador in London, "that a treaty of amity and commerce had been signed between the court of France and” the American Commissioners. In consequence of this offensive communication the king sent orders to his ambassador to withdraw from the French court. Lord North earnestly requested the king to accept his resignation, and to send for lord Chatham, of whom it was said at this time, "Every rank looks up to him, with the only gleam of hope that remains." The king declared "that no advantage to my country, nor personal danger to myself, can make me address myself to lord Chatham, or to any other branch of opposition. Lord North at length consented to go on as the head of a ministry till the Session of Parliament was closed. A few official changes were made, the most important of which was the appointment of the AttorneyGeneral, Thurlow, to be Lord Chancellor.

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The duke of Richmond had given notice in the House of Lords of a motion which he intended to make on the 7th of April, "for an address to the king upon the state of the nation." Chatham was slowly recovering from a fit of the gout; but he determined to take his place in Parliament. The duke of Richmond made his motion for an Address, which viscount Weymouth opposed. The earl of Chatham then "rose from his seat with slowness and difficulty, leaning on his crutches, and supported under each arm by his two friends [his son and his son-in-law]. He took one hand

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from his crutch, and raised it," thanking Heaven that he was still able to lift up his voice against the dismemberment of this ancient and most noble monarchy. When Chatham had spoken, in words which lord Camden describes as "shreds of unconnected eloquence, and flashes of the same fire which he, Prometheus-like, had stolen from Heaven; and were then returning to the place from whence they were taken," the duke of Richmond replied; and then Chatham made an effort again to address the House. "He fell back upon his seat," writes Camden, and was to all appearance in the agonies of death. The king the next day wrote to lord North, "May not the political exit of lord Chatham incline you to continue at the head of affairs?" The political exit was quickly followed by the close of the "last scene of all." Chatham died at Hayes on the 11th of May. On the day after his decease, the House of Commons unanimously resolved to honour his memory by a public funeral and a public monument. The king wrote to lord North, "This compliment, if paid to his general conduct, is rather an offensive measure to me personally." The funeral in Westminster Abbey was attended by few of the party in power.

The pacific measures of the British government produced not the slightest change in the policy of the leaders of the American revolution. When the Commissioners under lord North's bill arrived at Philadelphia, they found the army about to evacuate the town; having received positive orders to that effect from home. Howe had resigned his command, which had been transferred to sir Henry Clinton. The Congress refused to hold a conference with the royal Commissioners unless they should withdraw the naval and military power of Great Britain, or acknowledge the Independence of America in direct terms. The Commissioners determined to return to England; but they first took the somewhat dangerous step of addressing a Manifesto to the American people, remonstrating against the decision of the Congress, and holding out the threat that if peace and union were refused, the war would in future be conducted upon extreme principles. Clinton had marched through Jersey with Washington following him. A partial battle had been fought on the 28th of June, and the British army was at last established at New York, with a large garrison at Rhode Island. A French fleet from Toulon, under the count d'Estaing, appeared off New York on the 5th of July. It consisted of twelve sail of the line and six frigates, with a large number of troops on board. It was determined to attack the British on Rhode Island, by a combined army of four thousand French and ten thousand Americans. The garrison of five thousand retired within their lines at Newport. D'Estaing was about to land his troops, when the fleet under lord Howe appeared in sight, and the French admiral put to sea to offer battle, abandoning his allies, who were consequently compelled to relinquish their enterprise upon Rhode Island. The fleets were prevented engaging by a violent storm, by which they were both dismantled. Each went into port to refit; the British to New York, the French to Boston. The French admiral finally sailed to pursue his own plans of attacking the British West Indian Islands, or defending those of France. The island of St. Lucia was taken by the British, and Dominica by the French.

To the credit of the ministry, to whose policy he was opposed, admiral

Keppel, an experienced seaman, and very popular with the navy, was appointed to the command of the Channel fleet. He found only six ships of the line fit for service; but before the middle of June the number was increased to twenty. He sailed from St. Helen's on the 17th of June. Two French frigates, reconnoitring, were attacked by his squadron ; one of which was captured and the other driven on shore on the coast of France. Amongst the papers of the captured vessel he discovered that anchorage was ordered at Brest for an immense fleet, with which he thought his own unable to contend. He sailed back to Portsmouth. The Admiralty made great exertions; and Keppel, on the 9th of July, again put to sea with a reinforcement of ten ships. The French fleet, consisting of thirty-two sail of the line, and a considerable number of frigates, had come out from Brest, under the command of count d'Orvilliers. After four days' manoeuvring, an engagement took place off Ushant, which had no decisive result. Night was coming on with a heavy squall. Keppel signalled to the second in command, sir Hugh Palliser, to come up to renew the fight; but that admiral was unable to obey the order, from the damage which his ship had sustained. The French admiral got back to Brest, and Keppel sailed to Plymouth. The conduct of the two admirals became the subject of warm debates when the Parliament met in November, and, finally, upon charges made by Palliser against Keppel for misconduct and incapacity, a court-martial was ordered. The trial lasted thirty-two days, and ended in a unanimous verdict of the Court, that Keppel had acted with bravery and judgment, and that the charges were ill-founded and malicious. The popular enthusiasm in favour of Keppel was immense. Palliser demanded a court-martial upon himself, and received an acquittal of a very qualified character. General Burgoyne returned to England in the spring of 1778, on parole to the Congress. He was treated coldly by our government, and refused admission to the royal presence. As a member of Parliament, he had an opportunity of vindicating the Convention of Saratoga, and deprecating the blame he had incurred for the employment of Indians. An event occurred in this year, in which the barbarities of the Indians were fully displayed. Wyoming, on the Susquehanna, consisting of eight townships, was a new settlement, comparatively defenceless; although four forts had been constructed to resist the inroads of the savages. A minority amongst the settlers were bitterly opposed to those who resisted the British government, and were consequently exposed to rigorous treatment. Many of these loyalists had abandoned the settlement. At the beginning of July, a body of armed men, amounting to sixteen hundred, appeared on the Susquehanna. One fourth of these were Indians. The whole force was commanded by a partisan known as colonel Butler. The forts were taken by storm, and the men massacred. Then commenced a wholesale destruction of houses, corn-ricks, and standing corn. The sufferings of those who fled from the scenes of devastation, to endure all the miseries of inhospitable woods, were almost as great as those of the victims of the Indian tomahawk. Other such scenes of havoc took place in back settlements.

On the 16th of June the king sent a message to Parliament announcing that the Spanish minister had delivered a state-paper which amounted to a declaration of war. Invasion was expected; and a proclamation was

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issued, charging all civil and military authorities to remove horses, cattle, and provisions from the coast in case of a descent. The Standing Orders were suspended, to do away with all exemptions from impressment into the royal navy. An encampment of large bodies of militia was formed on Cox Heath. The spirit of the country was again roused, as when Spain threatened England in days of yore. The united Spanish and French fleet, consisting of sixty-six sail of the line, with a large number of frigates and smaller vessels, rode in the Channel. Sir Charles Hardy left Portsmouth with thirty-eight ships, but he could not venture on an action with a force so superior. He did good service however by leading the enemy to pursue him; and thus diverting their object of landing an invading army. The stormy season was approaching whilst time was thus gained. The ships of both the hostile nations were in bad condition, and a malignant disease having broken out amongst their crowded sailors and troops, the two admirals returned to their own ports.

In May, 1779, Benjamin Franklin was accredited by the Congress as the sole representative of the United States at the court of France-their Minister Plenipotentiary. The abilities of the shrewd old man were constantly directed to the difficult task of raising money upon American credit; and of employing it to organize attacks upon the coasts of Britain. He proposed an expedition, in which the sea forces should be commanded by Paul Jones, a native of Scotland, who had settled in Virginia, and had received a commission from Congress on the breaking out of the war. The land forces were to be commanded by La Fayette. The French government hesitated about this joint adventure; and finally Paul Jones sailed with three ships and a brigantine, and did surprising feats which justified his selection as a bold captain and a skilful seaman.

The military operations in the Northern States of America, during 1779, were not of much importance with reference to the superiority of either army. Washington was doing everything that a prudent commander could accomplish in the face of great difficulties. He complains of specu lation, peculation, engrossing, which afford too glaring instances of its being the interest and desire of some to continue the war. He laments the depreciation of the currency which had now gone beyond any example of European history in which the promises to pay of a government were treated as little better than waste-paper. Towards the end of 1778, sir Henry Clinton dispatched an expedition by sea to Georgia. Savannah was taken; and the province was reduced to submission.

On the 8th of February, 1780, sir George Savile, the respected member for Yorkshire, presented to the House of Commons the Petition of a great meeting of the Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders of his county, which was signed by eight thousand persons. The petition set forth, as the consequences of a most expensive and unfortunate war, a large addition to the national debt, heavy accumulation of taxes, a rapid decline of the trade, manufactures, and land-rents of the kingdom. It then came to the chief grievance, the great amount of public money squandered on sinecure places, and unmerited pensions, and the consequent increasing influence of the Crown. Twenty-three counties adopted similar petitions, and appointed their corresponding committees. On the 11th of February, Burke brought

forward a measure of Economical Reform, in a speech which is amongst the master-pieces of English composition,-unsurpassed in lucidness of detail, force of reasoning, historical research, and gleams of wit and poetry, by any example of parliamentary rhetoric. The reforms proposed were so temperate, and so incapable of being refuted by argument, that lord North offered no opposition to the reception of the first Bill which was founded upon them. Sir George Savile, on the 15th of February, moved for an account of all places for life or lives, whether held by patent or otherwise; and also for an account of all subsisting pensions, granted by the Crown. Lord North proposed an amendment, limiting the account to pensions payable at the Exchequer. The whole amount payable under the name of pensions, he said, did not exceed £50,000. The Amendment was carried only by a majority of two in a full house. Burke's Bill encountered every obstruction in its progress through Committee; and the Session was concluded without any practical result of the great statesman's incontrovertible exposition of abuses which agitated the minds of a whole people. On the 6th of April the Order of the Day was for taking into consideration the petitions of the people of England. Charles Fox harangued the petitioners of Westminster in the Hall; and resolutions were carried for annual Parliaments, and an addition of a hundred knights of the shire to the representation. In a Committee of the whole House, Mr. Dunning moved, "That it is the opinion of this Committee that the influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished." The resistance offered to the motion was feeble and indirect. It was carried by 233 against 215. Another motion, that it is competent to the House to examine into and correct abuses in the expenditure of the Civil List, as well as in every other branch of the public revenue, was agreed to without a division. A third motion, that it was the duty of the House to provide a remedy for the abuses complained of in the petitions, was also agreed to. Contrary to the ordinary usage, the resolutions were reported before the House adjourned. Only nine county members voted with the government. On the 18th of April, Dunning made another motion, that it is incompatible with the independence of Parliament that persons holding certain offices about the Court should sit in Parliament. This was carried only by a majority of 215 to 213. The minority rapidly gained strength, and soon became a large majority. Abstract propositions had been carried. The practical measures which were to render them of effect were rejected. On the 18th of May, the most important clauses in Burke's Bill were lost in Committee, to the king's great triumph.

In 1778, upon the motion of Savile, seconded by Dunning, some obsolete penalties against English Roman Catholics were repealed, with the approbation of men of all parties. It was subsequently contemplated to repeal a similar statute of the Scottish Parliament. These proceedings stirred up the fanaticism of Edinburgh and Glasgow at the beginning of 1779. Riots took place in Edinburgh. Houses of reputed Roman Catholics were assailed and damaged. A house where Catholics assembled for worship was set on fire. A Protestant Association and Committee was set up in Scotland; and a silly nobleman, lord George Gordon, was chosen as its President. The Protestant Associations of Scotland multiplied in