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EIGHTEENTH CENTUR y,

Continued from the Year 1762, the Period at which Mr. ANDERSON closed his HISTORY, down to the End of the Year 1788.

1763 IN

N the early part of this year, peace was concluded by the belligerent powers of Europe.On the tenth day of February, the definitive treaty of peace was figned, and soon after ratified, between the court of Great Britain and those of France and Spain; and between the two latter crowns and that of Portugal.-On the twenty-second of March following, peace was proclaimed, with the ufual folemnities, at London.

In this definitive treaty, the moft material alterations from, or explanations of, the preliminary articles of peace, of the third day of November, 1762, are:

I. That instead of the fifth article of the preliminaries, relating to Dunkirk, the thirteenth article of the definitive treaty ftipulates," That Dunkirk fhall be put into the state fixed by "the last treaty of Aix la Chapelle, and by former treaties. The Cunette* fhall be destroyed immediately after the exchange of the ratifications of the prefent treaty, as well as the forts "and batteries which defend the entrance on the fide of the fea; and provision shall be made at the same time for the wholesomeness of the air, and for the health of the inhabitants, by "fome other means, to the fatisfaction of the King of Great Britain.”

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* A Cunette, fometimes called a Cuvette, is generally defcribed to be a deep trench, (mostly a wet one.) dug along the bottom of a broader or larger dry ditch, for rendering the approach to the place more difficult.

VOL. IV.

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1763 II. That, instead of the tenth preliminary, the eleventh article of the definitive treaty stipulates, "That Great Britain shall reftore to France, in the condition they now are in, the "different factories (in the preliminary article called comptoirs) which that crown poffeffed, "as well on the coaft of Coromandel and Orixa, as on that of Malabar, as alfo in Bengal, at "the beginning of the year 1749 and France renounces all pretenfions to the acquifitions "fhe had made on the coaft of Coromandel and Orixa;" (i. e. Fort St. David, and its dependencies) "And his most Christian Majesty shall reftore, on his part, all that he may have "conquered from Great Britain in the Eaft Indies during the prefent war; and will exprefsly "cause Nattal and Tapanoully," i. e. Bencoolen, &c. " in the island of Sumatra, to be reftored. And he further engages, not to erect fortifications, or to keep troops in any parts "of the dominions of the Subah" commonly called the Nabob, "of Bengal. And, in "order to preferve future peace on the coaft of Coromandel and Orixa, the English and "French fhall acknowlegde Mahomet Ally Khan for lawful Nabob of the Carnatic, and "Salabat Jing for lawful Subah of the Decan; and both parties fhall renounce all demands "and pretenfions of fatisfaction with which they might charge each other, or their Indian "allies, for the depredations or pillage committed on either fide during the war."

To this article, his Grace the Duke of Bedford fubjoined a declaration, importing "That, "for the preventing of all subject of difpute, on account of the limits of the territories of the "Subah of Bengal, as well as of the coast of Coromandel and Orixa, the said territories of the "Subah of Bengal, shall be reputed to extend only as far as the Yanaon exclufively; and that "the Yanaon fhall be confidered as included in the northern part of the coast of Coromandel "and Orixa."

III. Instead of the fourth article of the preliminaries, by which the French King obliges himself, on his royal word only, not to fortify the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, that King, by the fixth article of the definitive treaty, "abfolutely engages not to fortify those islands, &c. as in the faid preliminary article."

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IV. Instead of the words of the nineteenth preliminary article, by which "his Catholic Majesty cedes and guarantees to his Britannic Majesty all that Spain poffeffes on the conti "nent of North America, to the caft or to the fouth-eaft of the river Miffifippi;" by the "twentieth article of the definitive treaty, "his Catholic Majefty cedes and guarantees, in full right, to his Britannic Majefty, Florida, with the fort St. Auguftine, and the bay of "Pensacola; as well as all that Spain poffeffes on the continent of North America, to the east, "or to the fouth-caft of the river Miffifippi; and, in general, every thing that depends on the "faid countries and lands, with the fovereignty, property, and poffeffion, and all rights acquired by treaties, or otherwife, which the Catholic King and the crown of Spain have had, "till now, over the faid countries, &c. in the most ample manner and form, &c."

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V. Inftead of the latter part of the ninth article of the preliminaries, by which "France "cedes, in full right, and guarantees to the King of Great Britain, Senegal;" in the tenth "article of the definitive treaty it is thus expreffed :-" His most Christian Majefty cedes, in "full right, and guarantees to the King of Great Britain, the river Senegal, with the forts "and factories of St. Louis, Podor, and Galam; and with all the rights and dependencies of "the faid river Senegal." Which forts and territories were thought fo important by the Houfe of Commons, that, on the thirtieth of the faid month of March, they paffed a vote of credit for his Majefty to expend as far as feven thousand pounds, for repairing and improving the fame.

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1763

With regard to Afia, the eleventh article of the definitive treaty fufficiently demonftrates the great fuperiority we obtained by it in the Eaft Indies, as it neceffarily produced a great increase of our Company's commerce thither, and a proportionable augmentation of the customs, as well as of our national wealth, and of the finking fund.

II. In Africa, our poffeffion of the French fettlements on the river Senegal, afforded us the profitable command of that most useful article gum Senegal, fo indifpenfably neceffary for the perfecting of many of our own manufactures: and, by the vast enlargement of our continental as well as infular dominions in America, the demand for negro flaves from that and other parts of the African coaft, greatly increafed, and therewith that of our fhipping and mariners; and also a proportionable, or perhaps greater augmentation of our outward-bound cargoes, confifting of our own various manufactures, for the purchase of those slaves, &c.

III. With regard to the new acquifitions, both from France and Spain, on the continent of North America, confidered either in a political or commercial view, they afforded a prospect of adding, in a pre-eminent degree, to the national profperity.

IV. By the extenfive province of Florida, which was then yielded to us by Spain, and by the further addition of almoft the only valuable part of Louisiana, our empire in America was not only rendered vastly more extenfive, but likewise extremely fecure, down from our province of Georgia fouthward, to the Cape of Florida; and thence turning weftward, along the great gulph or bay of Mexico, up to the mouth of the river Miffifippi; all which has no other frontier but the ocean: an extreme advantage to a commercial nation. But this was not all the benefit arifing from fuch conceffion: for, by the advantage of the bay and harbour of Penfacola, &c. we were enabled, in time of war, to command the neighbouring feas and coafts belonging to those two nations; with other advantages, which are now unneceffary to be mentioned.

V. By our treaty with Spain, we effectually established our before difputed right to the pro fitable benefit of our unlimitedly cutting of logwood on the fhores of Campeachy; where we were also empowered to have habitations for our people, and store-houses for our goods; where alfo, in cafe of any future rupture, it would always be in our power to form a more effectual establishment. By this important conceffion, a great bone of contention, of near one hundred years standing, was alfo moft fortunately abolished.

VI. Even with refpect to the Weft India iflands, we may obferve, that although, in order to get rid of our troublefome neighbours on the American continent, and to obtain of them many other important advantages, in different parts of the world, it was judged expedient to restore the fugar iflands we had conquered, together with the neutral one of St. Lucia, we ftill acquired, by the ninth article of the definitive treaty, the islands of Grenada and the Gre nadines, and likewife the neutral ifles of St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago; with the additional and permanent benefit of for ever annihilating the name or appellation of any neutral ifle in those feas; whereby each nation's poffeffions and property there are now diftinctly ascertained, and a final period put to fo long a plea for altercation.

Lastly, the effectual demolition of the impregnable part of the fea-port of Dunkirk was now fully executed; not merely because fo ftipulated, as it had been thrice before, but because we were in poffeffion of what we never before effectually had,—a fure pledge of its being duly performed.

These were, without doubt, most fubftantial and important objects :-But that they were adequate to the advantages we had gained during the course of the war, was an opinion by no

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1763 means unanimous throughout the kingdom; and there were not wanting perfons of the first talents, and the greatest name, who decried this peace, as difgraceful to a people, victorious in every part of the globe; and who, it was afferted, poffeffed refources to continue the career of fuccefs, till they had brought their enemies to their feet. But we must prefer narrative to fpeculation; it is our office to relate things as they happen, and not detail opinions as they arife; more particularly at a period when the established freedom of the prefs, and the great increase of knowledge, bring every public queftion into voluminous difcuffion. This work. would err from its defign, if we were to do more than ftate thofe facts which are appropriate to it, and recite those measures which have proceeded from the mind of government: to review the deliberations that produced them is not our province;-it is not for us to reafon,--but to relate.

To clear away the incumbrances of the late war, fupplies were to be raised, and, of course, taxes to be impofed. For these purposes it was propofed by government,

First, To take two millions from the finking fund.

Secondly, To ftrike one million eight hundred thousand pounds in Exchequer bills. Thirdly, To borrow two millions eight hundred thousand pounds on annuities: and, Fourthly, To form two lotteries, for three hundred and fifty thousand pounds each. To pay the intereft on thefe loans, which, amounted, in the whole, to feven millions three hundred thousand pounds, an additional duty, of eight pounds per tun, was laid upon all wines of the growth of France, and four pounds per tun on all others.

This part of the plan of ways and means was unexceptionable; but another duty was added, which furnished the opponents of government with a fubject of popular outcry, and the fuccefsful means of influencing the whole nation: this was a duty of four fhillings per hoghead to be laid on cyder, and to be subject, with fome qualifications, to all the laws of excife. As this act became an object of great popular frenzy and tumult, and feemed to intereft the paffions of the people in general at the time it was agitated and paffed, we fhall infert a general abstract of it.

“That from and after the thirty-first day of March, 1763, the following additional duties shall take place, viz.

"On French wine and vinegar imported, eight pounds per tun, and all other wines and vinegar imported four pounds per tun; to be collected, levied, and paid, as expreffed in the act of James II. or in any other act by which the duties thereby granted are made perpetual.

"Damaged and unmerchantable wines fhall be exempted from these additional duties.

"The faid duties fhall be under the management of the Commiffioners of the Customs, and fhall be paid over weekly by the Receiver-General into the Exchequer, apart from all other monies, and fhall be entered accordingly in proper books to be provided there for that purpose.

"No allowance fhall be made for leakage, but upon wines imported directly from the country or place of their growth, &c. Madeira wines from the British plantations in America excepted.

"From and after the fifth of July, 1763, an additional duty shall be laid on all cyder and perry: viz. on all cyder and perry imported, forty fhillings per tun; and upon all cyder "and perry made within Great Britain, four fhillings per hogfhead, to be paid by the maker.

"The

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