father proclaimed king of Great Britain, and himself prince regent. Many persons of distinction embraced his cause. But the decisive battle of Culloden, A. D. 1746, put a period to this dangerous insurrection, and the pretender, after suffering incredible hardships, made his escape to France. In the year 1748, the war with France and Spain was concluded, and the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle signed; but the French incroaching on the boundaries of the English provinces in North America, orders were sent to the governors of the British settlements to oppose force by force, A. D. 1754. War was accordingly declared. Minorca was lost, and admiral Byng, who had been sent to the relief of it, was tried, condemned, and shot, for neglect of duty in an engagement with the French fleet, which covered the siege. This misfortune was most amply compensated by the success of the British arms in the reduction of Surat and Pondicherry, in the EastIndies. The English likewise made themselves masters of Guadaloupe, Quebec, Montreal, and every other place within the government of Canada; Goree, and the other French settlements on the river Senegal, in Africa. In the midst of these rapid and extensive conquests, George II. finished his long career of glory, dying on the 25th of October, 1760, in the 77th year of his age, and the 34th year of his reign. His Britannic Majesty was succeeded in his regal and electoral dominions by his grandson, George III. in the 23d year of his age. He came to the crown beyond all dispute the most powerful monarch in Europe. The war was carried on with vigour. The island of Belleisle, on the coast of France; Martinico (the most important of the French West-India islands) the Havannah, in the west; and Manilla, with the whole range of the Philippines, in the east, among other valuable acquisitions, submitted to the English. Hostilities continued till 1763. In 1776, the colonies in North America declared themselves independent of Great-Britain. This circumstance involved England in a new war. France, Spain, and Holland, joined the Americans. Peace was concluded between all the contending powers in 1783; when the independence of the United States was acknowledged by the British king and parliament. In the year 1793, England engaged in another war with France: at the commencement, the Spaniards and Dutch declared themselves on the side of Great-Britain; but one French army took entire possession of the Netherlands; and another, marching into Spain, compelled a change of politics in that kingdom. During this contest, the British were not always successful in their battles by land, but their naval victories were unprecedentedly splendid. The principal of them were, that of Lord Howe over the French fleet, on the 1st of June, 1794; that over the Spaniards, by Sir John Jervis, (now Lord St. Vincent) on the 14th of February, 1797; another in the same year, by Admiral Duncan, over the Dutch fleet, October 11th; and the total defeat of the French fleet in the Nile, by Admiral Nelson, on the 1st of August, 1798. On the 21st of October, 1805, the British feet, consisting of 27 sail of the line and 4 frigates, under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson, engaged the combined fleets of France and Spain, off Trafalgar, near Cadiz, consisting of 33 sail of the line and 4 frigates, 18 French and 15 Spanish: after a desperate conflict of 4 hours, 19 of the combined fleet struck their colours, and a French 74 was blown up. In this memorable engagement, Admiral Nelson was killed about the middle of the action, by a ball in his left breast. From these, and a number of inferior conquests, nearly the whole of the French, Dutch, and Spanish marine, have fallen into the hands of the British. The union of Great-Britain and Ireland took place on the 1st day of January, 1801; and the Imperial Parliament met at Westminster, on the 22d of January, in the same year. From the late failure of the coalition, upon the continent, Great-Britain must now contend with the gigantic power of France, and probably with a part of that very coalition, single handed. The official return of the volunteer force in England, as made out at the war-office, on the 4th of November, 1804, states the whole number to be three hundred and thirty-five thousand two hundred and nine effective men ; of whom two hundred and ninety-seven thousand five hundred and two are infantry, thirty-one thousand five huudred cavalry, and six thousand two hundred and se ven artillery; making, with the regulars and militia, an army of five hundred thousand. From this statement, we should naturally draw the conclusion, that if the emperor of the French, in an evil hour, should seriously attempt to invade England, and by some astonishing caprice of fortune, evade its "wooden walls," he will meet with a warm reception, from so many sturdy John Bulls, aided by heroic sansculottes Caledonians, and the gallant sons of Hibernia. Let us rather hope That blood and carnage will subside, However desirable such an event may be, we can never expect the consummation of our present philanthropic wishes, till the gospel of truth (which inculcates fraternal benevolence towards our fellow men of every hue and clime) shall influence the minds of the rulers of nations. Ancient history furnishes us with numerous instances wherein rulers have felt power and forgot right.* What the emperor of the French has recently done, and is doing by land, and Great-Britain by sea, fully corroborates what the historic page relates of the natural tendency of the human mind to inordinate ambition and the abuse of power. LANGUAGE.-The English language is compounded of several others, but more particularly of Saxon, Celtic, French, and Latin; but the former predominates. This, instead of rendering it defective, gives it innume The American government has hitherto been an honourable exception. rable graces, since it has incorporated most of the beauties, and rejected the defects of the languages of which it is composed. Hence, it is said, to be more energetic than the French, more manly than the Italian, more copious than the Spanish, and more elegant than the German. RELIGION.-The established religion of England is a protestant episcopal church; but all sorts of religions are either connived at or tolerated. The king of GreatBritian is acknowledged as supreme head of the Anglican church, governed by two archbishops and twentyfour suffragans, each of these enjoying the title of lord, and have precedent immediately after viscounts, in parliament, &c. The two archi-episcopal sees, are those of Canterbury and York. The archbishop of Canterbury is stiled the primate of all England, is the first peer in the kingdom; precedes all dukes and great officers of the crown, next to the royal family; and performs the ceremony of the coronation. A short delineation of the English constitution as it stands at present. The legislative power resides in parliament, and the constituent parts of parliament are king, lords, and commons. Each house has a negative on the other, and the king on both. The executive power of government is lodged in the crown-the king is the chief magistrate-the chief of all courts of judicature the fountain of honor-superintendant of commerce-head of the church-commander-in-chief of the sea and land forces-arbiter of peace and war and responsible to no judicature. These powers of the crown are thus limited and restrained: The king is dependent on parliament for all subsidies the parliament must be assembled once in three years the king cannot alter the established religion he cannot interfere with the courts of judicature in the administration of justice-cannot alter the standard of money-cannot raise land forces, without the consent of parliament.-The king's ministers are responsible for all public measures. Freedom of debate in parliament cannot be questioned, &c. &c. CHAPTER XIV. SPAIN. Under the Carthaginians,-The Romans,-The Vandals, -And the Moors.-Arragon aud Castille under Ferdinand and Isabella.-Expulsion of the Moors-Discovery of America. At the western extremity of the ancient world, is situated Spain; once a great and powerful kingdom. It has, in every age, invariably preserved the same natural limits; the Pyrenæan mountains, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its native inhabitants were divided into a number of small independent tribes, of which those called the Celtiberians, Cantaberians, and Asturians, were the most powerful. Prior to the conquests of the Carthaginians, we know nothing of the transactions of these barbarians. This opulent and powerful state subdued all the southern parts of Spain, where they built Gades, now called Cadiz. They were dispossessed by the Romans, b. C. 191, who gradually reduced the whole country to a Roman province, in which situation it flourished four centuries under the protection of the emperors. During this period, Spain enjoyed perfect tranquility and domestic happiness. Its cities were numbered with the most illustrious of the Roman world. The various plenty of the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms, was improved and manufactured by the skill of an industrious people; and the peculiar advantages of naval stores contributed to support an extensive and profitable trade. |