pendence, no heart beat higher than mine with affection for her caufe." But when, inftead of confining herself to her own defence, France "became the affailant," when it appeared that the had formed a plan of aggrandizement, at the expence of all her neighbours," Mr. Harper's opinion changed. Still he thought it the duty and intereft of America to remain, if poflible, at peace. This policy was adopted by the American government. But France had determined to use the American republic as an inftrument for promoting her ambition; and, for this purpofe, endeavoured to gain the controul of its affairs, and to excite jealoufies against the government, and divilions among the people. In proof of this, Mr. Harper ftates the conduct of the firft French Minifter, Genet.

"His unfounded pretenfions, his threats of appealing from the decifions of government to the people, his arming of privateers in the American ports, againft the exprefs orders of the government, his attempt to levy an army in that country, for the purpofe of invading nations with whom it was at peace, and his making a formal complaint against the Prefident, for refusing to convene congrefs at his inftance.”

When Genet was recalled, Mr. Harper ftates, "not the object, but the mode of purfuing it was changed," and, instead of threats and bluftering, a more artful infidious courfe was purfued by his fucceffors. On the steady refufal of the American government to yield to them,

"The French government," fays Mr. Harper, has at length made that appeal to the people of America, which her minifters formerly threatened. It has explained its pretenfions, ftated its complaints, and detailed its injuries. In revenge for thofe injuries, as it informs us, it has broken the treaty between the two countries, let loofe its flips of war and privateers to pillage and maltreat our citizens, and has infultingly driven from its territory a minifter fent exprefsly to explain and conciliate. It has declared, that it will hear nothing from us, until the injuries of which it complains are reorefled; or, in other words, that we muit fubmit to the terms which it fhall think proper to preferibe, before it will deign to negotiate, or even to converfe, on the points in difpute." P. 9.

Mr. Harper calls, in very fpirited terms, upon his countrymen to refift fuch haughty and arbitrary pretenfions. We cannot help remarking here, that this language of the French Directory coincides exactly with that which they have held in their late negotiations with the European powers, and particularly with this country. This is their diplomatic fyftem. Their adverfaries are required to give up their independency, before they are permitted to treat. The treaty concluded by America with Great Britain, is next juftified, and it is shown not to contain any articles, of which France can reasonably complain. America is alfo vindicated from the charge of

having violated fome of the articles of her treaties with France, and against the strange complaint of having refused to enter a new and more extenfive treaty. The effential conditions of this new treaty (Mr. Harper proves from the instructions to Genet) were, that America fhould join France in the war, engage to defend her iflands, and form an alliance offensive and defenfive. Mr. Harper, therefore, juftly infers, that the project of France, from the beginning of the war, was "to draw America into it."

Having fully refuted this charge against the government of his country, Mr. Harper proceeds to answer the remaining complaints of France; and ftates, very forcibly and juftly, the degradation to which the American States would be reduced, if they complied with her pretenfions. His very fpirited protest against the confequences of fuch a degradation, places the tyranny of France in fo ftrong a light, and contains an exhortation fo falutary, to every people who have not yet refigned their independence, that we will give it in his own words.

"When we shall have done all this, when we shall have broken our treaties, repealed our laws, and in contempt of our conftitution, reverfed the most folemn decifions of our courts; when we fhall have placed the judicial power of our country under the controul of a Freuch minifter, and abandoned the whole fyftem of our foreign policy, fo wife, and adopted after fo much deliberation; when we shall have placed our ports, our rivers, and our commerce, at the mercy of French privateers, and engaged in a war with the enemies of France, to compel the furrender of an acknowledged right, because its exercife happens to be inconvenient to her! when we hall have done all this, what will be gained? Will France then reftrain her privateers, restore our property, and refpect our few remaining rights? No! She promifes no fuch thing; the requires all this to be done as a preliminary, and when it is done, the will then hear what we have to fay, and will fignify to us her further pleasure.

"And are the people of America, who once generously refolved to maintain their independence, or die in the laft ditch, are you my fellow-citizens, whose blood has often flowed in the cause of your country, prepared for this? Are you prepared to lay your country proftrate at the feet of France? Are you prepared to put your courts under the controul of her agents, violate your conftitution at her orders, and tamely allow her minifter, under the pretence of watching over the execution of a treaty, and of inforcing the laws of neutrality, to over-rule the legislature, dictate to the Prefident, and affume the abfolute direction of your affairs? If you be thus prepared, which I will never believe till I fee it, I freely, nay proudly declare to you, that I am not, and that my voice shall never fanction this furrender of our rights and independence. Sooner would I fee every ship funk, every town in ashes, and devastation once more spread from one end of our coaft to the other.

N

BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XI. FEB. 1798.

"What

"With the lofs of these things we might retain our foil, our hands, our courage, our independent fpirit, and our conftitution: and we fhould be a nation ftill. Industry would again give us fhips and towns; again might commerce gladden our ports, and agriculture fmile over our land; and our children, poffeffing in peace and honour the bleflings which with fo many facrifices we had purchased, might proudly look on our graves, and fay, Thefe were our fathers! But independence once loft, is most rarely regained: fuch is the conditions of our nature, that a nation once fallen, once reduced under a foreign rule, mot rarely rifes again; and where its fall proceeds, as in our cafe it muft, not from its want of means, but from its want of courage to use them, from its pufillanimity, its intrinfic weakness of character, it is defined never more to fhake off the yoke." P. 66.

After ftating the treatment which the Dutch and the Belgians. have received, in order to prove, which he does completely, that the oppreffions of France keep pace with the weaknefs and credulity of thofe with whom he has to deal, Mr. Harper next examines the pretended claim of France, on the gratitude of America, as having been the means of establishing her independence; and justly obferves that, if the fact were true, it would not follow that America muft comply with every demand of France (which would be, to give up that very independence); but he further thows, by facts and dates, that the Americans had no affiftance from France, till they had carried on the war for three years, had captured Burgoyne's army, and had been offered. every thing thort of independence, on the part of Great Britain: he alfo thows, that while the conteft was doubtful, the aflistance of France was conftantly refufed; and that the publicly juftified her conduct against England, on the ground, that the United States had not only declared, but established their independence when the treaties were concluded. The motive of France, he juftly obferves, was not any kindness to America, but the defire of weakening her rival, and of dividing the British empire*.

A variety of other topics relating to the dispute between the American government and France, are here difcuffed by this author. But we haften to that part of his work which is peculiarly interefting to the inhabitants of this kingdom. In order to explain fully the views of France in America, he details her projects in Europe, and offers thefe obfervations.

It is fingular, that the French Republic, which refufes to be bound by any of the treaties or acts of their late monarchy, when urged against them, fhould think themselves intitled to any return of gratitude, fuppofed to be due for the protection and affiftance afforded" by that fame monarchy.

It is perfectly well known, that he has long formed, and still purfues with the moft fteady perfeverance, a fyftem of aggrandizement in Europe, for enfuring the fuccefs of which, it is abfolutely effential that the maritime power of England fhould be reduced. Germany oppofed barriers to her by land, which were alfo to be removed. Accordingly Germany was to be divided, and a maritime coalition formed against England. Of this coalition the United States were to form an important part; for though we had no navy, it was known that we had the means of fpeedily forming one; and that when once engaged in the war, we fhould be obliged to exert them. The great number of our merchant ships, in the mean time, the skill, numbers, and enterprizing character of our feamen, the abundance of provifions and naval ftores in our country, the convenience of our harbours, and, above all, our vicinity to the Weft Indies, where the commerce and navy of England are moft eafily fufceptible of a deep and deadly wound, would have rendered us a most important ally in a maritime war against that power. To cut off our commerce with her at the fame time, the importance whereof to her, though certainly great,, has been far over-rated by France, would greatly aid the blow.

Accordingly we find that as foon as the republic and the power of the Jacobin leaders were established, and before the war with England commenced, Mr. Genet was fent out with express instructions to bring about this alliance; and I have been affured by a gentleman, who about that time acted a confiderable part in the Convention, but has fince vifited America, that this maritime coalition was early devifed, and that nothing was wanting to its completion but the confent of the United States. That confent," he added, with an air of refentment, which four years had not been able to allay, plied for and was refused."

66 was ap

"In this refufal, and in that proclamation of neutrality againt which the minifters of France have never ceafed to cry out, from Genet who faid "it was a breach of the treaty," to Adet who brands it as "infidious," was laid the foundation of our prefent quarrel with France. She did not, however, begin the quarrel immediately; for fhe ftill entertained hopes of drawing us gradually into the war, by fomenting our ancient differences with England, and prevailing on us, under the pretext of fulfilling our obligations by treaty and the laws of neutrality, to adopt meafures which her antagonist would not have failed, and juftly too, to confider as hoftile. When the faw these efforts conftantly baffled by the firm prudence of our government, and all her hopes of a quarrel finally extinguished by the treaty with Britain, fhe then fuffered her refentment to blaze out in the measures which the now purfues.

"In the mean time, the plan went on in Europe, and was pursued with varying fuccefs, but undeviating perfeverance: nor did it receive the leaft check or alteration from the frequent changes of government in France. Various factions wifhed to rule at hoine, and in their ftruggles for power, flaughtered each other without remorfe or for bearance. But they all had the fame object as to their neighbours ; and that object was aggrandizement to France at their expence."

P, 126.

Mr. Harper then explains the views of the French with regard to Germany; which they confidered as the most vulne rable by the two weapons with which they meant to affail all Europe, divifion and infurrection. Thefe weapons he shows (by an intercepted difpatch of the minifter Fauchet) the French Government intended also to employ in America. In a long and able note in this part, Mr. Harper proves the French to be the aggreffors in the prefent war, both as to Auftria and England. He proves this alfo very fully, both in the text and in a fubfequent note, on many of the grounds and authorities relied upon by former writers, but never, perhaps, more fatisfactorily ftated and explained. But he proves it most forcibly by the tacit allowance of France herself.

"The only benefit ftipulated for France," he fays, in her treaty with America," was our guarantee of her islands, but this ftipulation, which was to take effect only when France was engaged in a defenfive war, does not operate in this cafe; because in the prefent war the is clearly the aggreflor and of this he is fo fenfible, that, amidst all her extravagant demands, she has never called upon us for the fulfilment of the guarantee." P. 82.

After setting forth the proceedings of the French, fince they have detached the King of Pruffia from the alliance, he returns to his principal fubject, and inquires what is, probably, the meaning of France in her conduct towards America? To this he answers, that it is not, as he conceives, to retaliate for any pretended injuries, nor feriously to quarrel with the American States, but to drive them into her measures by illtreatment; as she thinks the people in general fo attached to her caufe, that the government will be obliged to fubmit to any terms; or, that the Americans, if they do not comply with their demands, "will (from their defire of peace) be at all times ready to make an accommodation, and relinquish their claim to indemnity, as the price of deliverance from further aggreffion." As the only method, therefore, to induce her to abandon her measures, he recommends firmuefs and unanimity; and that, in conformity with the fpeech of the Prefident, at the opening of Congrefs, negotiation fhould once more be tried, which, he believes, will be fuccefsful. In the mean time, he enforces the neceffity of "vigorous and effectual preparations for war"."

Whether the preparation for war has been as vigorous as Mr. H. recommended, we have not learned. But negotiation has been again tried, and feems not likely to be fuccessful.

Reasoning