Page:The Annual Register 1758.djvu/242

 248 ANNUAL REGISTER, 175^.

rover, were farmed out to a citizen obliged to retreat, by reafon of tlie of Paris, which was notified by a too great fuperiority of the encmy'-s public edift to the whole eleftorate, troops over thofe of the Duke of and would have been foon put in Cumberland ; the greatefl part of execution. the king's German territories, and To maintain that thcfe are pri- alfo thofeoftheLandgraveofHefle- vileges which a guarantee of the Cafiel and of the Duke of Brunf- treaty of Weftphalia hath a right wick, fell into the enemy's hands, to; to pretend that France had no who made them feel all the hard- other view but to execute the laws fhips of war. They, however, al- of the empire, and to put the King ways pretended, that thefe mif- of Poland again in poffeflion of fortunes were a confequence of the Saxony, is contrary to the Impreflion meafures taken by his majefty, who which plain fads mull: make upon would not grant the peace intended themindsofthemoft prejudiced. It for his ftates, and thofe of his allies.

His majefty then refolved, in qua- lity of eleftor, to make propofals of peace to the emprefs queen and the court of France. He faw that the efforts which he had made to ftop

preji would be needlefs to attempt over- throwing a pretence, of which all the world fees the weaknefs ; a pre- tence of which France did not avail heifelf when (he faw herfelf in pof-

felfion of Hanover; a pretence, in the French army had been ineffec-

fhort, which fhe has refuted in the tual ; his paternal heart was fen-

plaineft manner by her condud, fibly afFefted to fee the oppreiTion

when the king, as eleftor, caufed and ruin of his faithful fubjefts. propofals of peace to be made to her. The feverity with which they

We come now to examine the reft afted with regard to his allies, ex-

of thefe meafures, the convention of cited in his foul fentiments of the

Clofter-feven, and the objedions to moft fi n cere com pafTion ; he then

which it has given occafion. repeated his former declarations.

On reading what the court of that he would obferve the moft ihicl

France fays of that convention, one neutrality as eleftor, during the

would think that this is the article troubles of Germany, and promifed

on which {he laid the greatelt ftrefs. to feparate his army, on condition

It is plain, however, that the plan that his ftates, and thofe of his al-

which it has follov^ed in this aft"air lies, were delivered from the yoke

is moft unjuftifiable, and that the under which they groaned. Thefe

king'sconduclhere,asincvery other offers were abfolutely all that the

refpe^l, is void of all juft cenfure. courts of Vienna and Verfailles had

To prove this we fhall, as the molt demanded, and the lalterefpecially

proper way, relate the whole mat- could not rejeft them, without

ter of faft. We fhall firft fhew it taking off the malk, difcovering

to the public in the moft natural her defign to make conquefts in

light, and then anfwer the cbjec- Germany, and of dcftroying, con-

tions made by France. trary to all the laws of nations, the

After the affair of Haftenbeck on eleitorate of Hanover, incorporat-

the 26th of July I757, wherein the ed with the empire, and taking no

two armies, though very unequal part in thefe quarrels on account

in numbers, fought long with of the war in America. The two

doubtful fuccefs till the weakeft was courts had as yet given no definitive'
 * anfwer*