without receiving any application on the fubject, had taken into confideration what had paffed, regarding it as an infringement of the public peace; that, on the very day of the prince's departure, they had given a commiffion to the princes of the circle of the Lower Rhine and Weftphalia (the Bifhop of Manfter, the Duke of Juliers, and the Duke of Cleves,) to protect, with fuch forces as might be neceffary, at the expence of the rebellious inhabitants of Liege, the prince-bithop, his bousehold, &c.—to restore the form of government as it was before the rebellion; to reinstate the magiftrates in their offices; to fearch after the authors of the rebellion, and to punish them by imprisonment, &c.

The King of Pruffia had been informed of the tranfactions at Liege, to which were given the names of a revolution, and a rebellion: the flight of the prince and the decree of the chamber had, however, so far altered the face of matters, as to render him defirous of fearching more deeply into their real ftate: he in confequence, ordered M. DE DOHм, his minifter for the dutchy of Cleves, to fix his refidence at Liege.

The retreat of the prince was now known to be in the neighbourhood of Treves; where a deputation of the three eftates immediately waited on him to induce him to return to his country. This proving fruitiefs, was followed by more preffing inftances, which were equally difregarded. In the mean time. M. DE DOHм had a conference with the chancellor of the prince, and explained to him the King's defire of a peaceable arrange ment, requesting to know his highnefs's fentiments with regard to the means by which it might be procured. Inftead of pointing out thefe means, the prince addreffed himfelf by letter to the King, claiming the plenary execution of the decree of the chamber. The King's anfwer fhews in what fenfe he was determined to undertake the

execution of that decree; and, accordingly, the letter of his minifter, which accompanied the firft mandate of the co-directors, invited the prince to propofe, without reserve, the terms of accommodation. In reply, the prince declared himself willing even to facrifice fome of his own rights for the fake of establishing peace. From this declaration, it could not be doubted that the prince, though he had before denied the validity of the affembly of the ftates, as convoked by himfelf, would nevertheless ratify the re-establishment of the conftitutional mode of electing reprefentatives, of which he had fo often and fo folemnly teftified his approbation: the arrival of the troops furnifhed by the co-directors, feemed, therefore, alone wanting to enfure fuccefs to the conciliatory propofitions, which the Duke of Cleves intended to offer..

The

The arrival of the troops happened about the latterend of November 1789; when the King of Pruffia furnished 5000 men, being above double the force fent by the two other powers in confequence, the chief command was entrusted to this general. agitation of the people of Liege was inconceivable; it was heightened too by the fituation of the ftates of Brabant. Thefe people, undifciplined as they were, had attacked 18000 difciplined troops, and had routed them; they now fent an embaffy to Liege to renew their ancient alliances; and both parties entered into folemn obligations to affift in defending their rights and their liberties. Such was the uncertain and dangerous posture of affairs, when the minifters of the interfering powers were met by a deputation from the three eftates at Liege. The deputies remonftrated strongly againit the approach of the tropps, and propofed that matters fhould be difcuffed before the Miniftres Directoreaux, not as men appointed to execute the decree of the Imperial chamber, but as impartial mcdiators. If this were

granted;

granted; if the troops were removed, and engagements were formed that no criminal procefs fhould be carried on against thofe who had affifted in a revolution, fanctioned by the confent of the fovereign; they, on their part, would ftipulate that the prefent magiftates fhould refign their places whenever they could proceed to a new election on conftitutional principles. If, on the contrary, their propofals were not accepted, they could not anfwer for any exceffes which might be occafioned by defpair. This reprefentation had little weight with the minifters from Munster and Juliers: they, as forming the majority, decreed that the troops fhould advance, and that the plenary execution of the imperial decree fhould take place. Fortunately, their colleague was not eafily turned afide from what he thought the path of rectitude accordingly, he not only protefted against this decree, but gave a separate aufwer to the deputies, affuring them, that, if they refrained from all tumult or oppofition to the troops, neither their perfons nor properties fhould be endangered: that, on condition of their -complying with the refignation of the lately appointed magistrates, a new mode of election fhould be framed, after the method in ufe before the year 1684; and that, till the neceffary alterations could take place, a temporary government fhould be established. This affurance from the Minifter De Dohm, produced its full effect, and the troops were immediately received into the capital as friends and protectors.

Nothing was now neceffary to a final accommodation, but the confent of the prince to terms which he had fo frequently approved. Inflead of this, he perfifted in purfuing the unfortunate measures which he had of late adopted: he not only wished to tevoke what he had freely done, but he propofed formally to the Imperial Chamber to annul the folemn promife 163 E VOL. XIV. No. 83.

which he had made to his people in the face of the universe: he folicited the co-directors to accelerate the execu tion of the decree; and he infifted on the punishment of the most active of the oppofite party. In addition, the Imperial chamber made another decree, urging the full execution of the former. The minifters of Munter and Juliers, in confequence, iffued orders, without confulting their colleague, M. de Dohm; thefe were, however, ineffectual, as the Pruffian general, who had the command of the troops, contented himself with maintaining the peace of the city, fhewing partiality to neither fide. In this fituation of affairs, the prince applied directly to the King of Pruña, entreating him, in the moit prefling terms, to execute the decree in its fulleft force. To this, his majefty replied at confiderable length, in a letter that does him honour. Among other fentiments, he obferves, that he could not execute, in its full force, the decree of the chamber, which required that all things fhould be eftablifted as they were before the revolution, and that the magiftrates should be depofed, and the authors of their election puuifhed. He reminds the prince of the propofals made by M. de Dohm, which, just and moderate as they were, had been haughtily rejected; that he fhould then have withdrawn his interference, had he not imagined that a civil war fhould have been the confequence, and that the bifhopric of Liege would have been lost to the prince and to the empire. He remarks that the inhabitants of Liege had given immediate credit to the declaration of his minifter, and had, in confequence, received his troops into their city-and that his principles were not fuch as to allow him to profit by their fecurity, in order to effect their ruin: he repeats the terms on which he thought an accommodation might be fettled; and, as a preliminary fep, he conjures the priace

403

AFTER the establishment of the General Bank, Mr Law began to develope the plan of that great and ftupendous project he had long meditated, known by the name of the Miffifippi System, which, for a while, turned the heads of the French, and attracted the attention of all Europe; a project that, if carried into full execution, would, in all probability, have exalted France toa vaft fuperiority of power and wealth over every other ftate. The scheme was no less than the vefting the whole privileges, effects, and poffessions of all the foreign trading companies, the great farms, the profits of the mint, the general receipt of the king's revenue, and the management and property of the bank, in one great Company, who thus having in their hands all the trade, taxes, and royal revenues, might be enabled to multiply the notes of the bank to any extent they pleafed, doubling or even trebling at will the circulating cafh of the kingdom; and, by the greatnefs of their funds, poffeffed of a power to carry the foreign trade, and the culture of the colonies, to a height altogether impracticable by any other means. The outlines of the plan being laid before the regent, met with the approbation of that prince; measures were taken for the establishment of the propofed company, and directions iffued for making the requifite grants to enable them to begin their operations.

Accordingly, by letters patent, dated in Auguft. 1717, a commercial company was erected, under the name of the Company of the Weft, to whom was granted the whole province of Louifiana, or the country on the river Miffifippi; from which last circumstance, its fubfequent proceedings came to be included under the general name of the Mifilippi Syftem. Of this Company 200,000 actions (or fhares) were created, rated at 500 livres each; 3 E 2

and the fubfcription for them was ordered to he paid in billets d'etat, at that time fo much difcredited, by reafon of the bad payment of their intereft, that 500 livres nominal value in them would not have fold upon 'change for more than 150 or 160 livres. In the fubfcription they were taken at the full value, fo this was effectually a loan from the Company to the King of 100 millions. The intereft of that fum, to be paid by his Majefty to the Company, was fixed at the rate of 4 per cent. the first year's intereft to be employed for commercial purposes, and the annual-rents of the following years to be allotted for paying regularly the dividend on the actions, which was fixed at 20 livres per annum on each, exclufive of the profits of the trade.

Of this Company of the Weft, Mr Law (who had now advanced fo high in the Regent's favour, that the whole minifterial power was reckoned to be divided betwixt him, the Abbe du Bois. Minifter of Foreign Affairs, and M. D'Argenfon, Keeper of the feals), was named Director General. The actions were eagerly fought after, Louifiana having been reprefented as a region abounding in gold and filver, of a fertile foil, capable of every fort of cultivation. The unimproved parts of that country were fold for 30,000 livres the fquare league, at which many purchased to the extent of 600,000 livres; and vigorous preparations were made for firting out veffels to tranfport thither labourers and workmen of every kind. The demand for Billets d'etat, for the purchase of actions, occafioned their immediately rifing to their full nominal value.

On the 4th of September 1718, the Company of the Weft undertook the Farm of Tobacco, for which they paid 2,020,00oliv. advanced rent to the King; and on the 15th of December following, they acquired the charter

and

to return immediately to his capital -he concludes, by faying, that if this plan were not adopted, he fhould immediately withdraw his forces.

Nothing feems to have been further from the bishop's mind, than ideas of accommodation: he did not even notice the King's letter, till after the expiration of fix weeks; and then his anfwer was as unfatisfactory as it was long it was a compound of mean fubmiffion to the king, and of haughty contempt for his people. It was anfwered as it deferved. I'laid before you,' fays his Pruffian Majefty,in his letter dated March 9, 1790, my free and real fentiments refpecting the troubles which have unhappily arifen in Liege; at the fame time I propofed articles of accommodation, which I then thought, and now think, juft, moderate, and alone proper to heal this unfortunate breach. I added that, if my propofitions were not received, and if you were determined to demand the plenary execution of the decree of the Imperial Chamber, I would inftantly recal my troops, and abandon a commiffion, which I could not execute with juftice and honour. I might have expected from you a clear anfwer to clear propofitions: inftead of this, I receive nothing but declamation about rights, which, had I the inclination and the leifure, I might eafily fhew never to have exifted; a heap of aflertions without proof, and readily refuted; nay, in fact, already refuted in my own letters.'

In another part, he tells the prince, that if he can depend, as he had afferted, on feven-eights of his people being in favour of his fcheme of government, he has only to fuffer the magiftrates for the enfuing year to be chofen by the free voice of all the inhabitants of each town: it would then appear whether the prince's fentiments were right, or thofe of the deputies from Liege, who maintained that eleven-twelfths of the voices were

for the new conftitution. He next repeats, more in detail, the terms which he fubmits to the prince for the laft time; declaring that, if these were not adopted before the 30th of the fame month, he should confider his filence as a refusal of confent ; and that he fhould esteem his delays and shiftings as fo many endeavours to harass his country into fubmiffon by the vexatious expence of an army, which it was obliged to fupport.

The Bishop of Liege ftill defiring a farther delay, the King agreed to poftpone his final refolution till the 15th of April. On this occafion, he tells him that, as a prince, firm and patriotic, he ought either nor to have given to his ftates his approbation of their conduct, and the subsequent promife by which he had engaged himfelf in favour of the Revolution; or, having given it, he should not, without reafon, revoke it: that, by quiting his country, and leaving his countrymen, without a fingle attempt on his part to accommodate matters, he was refponfible to the nation and to the public in general for all the mifchiefs which he might have prevented, by liftening to just and moderate terms. This was the language of truth, but it was fpoken to the deaf ear the King received, in answer, a fupercilious epiftle, in which the writer fubmits his caufe to the justice of the empire at large; Juftice, Sire, juf tice! he exclaims with energy; but bad he viewed juftice in the fame light that we and fome other uncourtly and blunt men view it, he would either have altered his conduct, or not have been fo yociferous in his exclamations.

The lateft communication in this volume is dated Berlin, April 6th 1790,' and appears to be written by his Pruhan Majesty: it contains ajal tification of his conduct in recalling his troops, and in avoiding any farther interference in the affairs of Liege.

Accou