Friday the 16th of January, after known to both assemblies, who having fome days before 'informed did not take any ftep to oppose the the States General of their inten. tion, and found themselves obliged to submit to those conditions which the conqueror thought fit to grant: It will fuffice to flate, that the ftates of that province having requested that their conftitution and form of government might be preserved, would only provitionally agree to it, which afforded no fecurity for the future. measure; and that his departure did not take place till the states of Holland had refolved to capitulate, and had required it in their name, from the prince of Orange, as captain-general of that province, an officer and a trumpet to announce the commiffion from the states of Holland, who were to repair to the general of the enemy to afcertain what articles thould form a capitulation for that province. The prince knew their deputies were commiftioned not to make any difficulties, but to yield to every article. The fame day after the prince had notified his intention of quitting the Dutch territories, four members of the college of counfellors, deputed by Holland, demanded an audience of the prince, and begged he would haften his The prince of Orange being informed, that the ftates of the provinces of Holland were about to adopt the fame resolution on the fame day, found himself under the neceffity of fending away the princesses his wife and daughter-inlaw, with the prince his grandfon, on board a fishing-boat, on Sunday morning the 18th of January, and was himself obliged to follow them on the fame day (with the two departure, that they could give no princes his fons,) which however reply to any thing; and that even he did not do till he had acquainted if it was infifted upon in the the States General, as also the ftates French general's anfwer that the of the Seven Provinces, and of prince and his family should not be the country of Dronthe, with his intended departure; writing to them, "That he easily foresaw, from the present situation of the republic, what lot he must expect if the enemy should penetrate fur- fioners of the national conventher into the country; and, not tion, should require that the col. wishing to be any obstacle to peace, lege of the deputed counsellors he had refolved to absent himself and his family for a time from the territories of the states, and hoped that their high mightinesies would approve of this step." It should here be remarked, that the prince did not depart till after his letter had been read, as well in the affembly of the States General as in that of the states of Holland; that his departure from the Hague and his embarkation were fully permitted to quit the country, they would be under the neceffity of taking measures to prevent their departure, especially y in cafe the French general, or the commif should be made responsible, if the prince absented himself before the arrival of the French troops. After fuch a declaration the prince of Orange thought it no longer safe to remain at the Hague, and embarked at Scheveling on board, a fishing-boat. Having confulted the marine officers and pilot who were on board the vessel what course be should steer, they were unanimoufly of opinion that the best plan would be 1 1 be to make for an English port. The prince, before he quitted the road of Scheveling, wrote to M. Van Spiegel, counsellor penfionary of the province of Holland, with the opinion of the marine officers and pilot of the above-mentioned veffel, figned by them. The counfellor penfionary having communicated the fame to their high mightineffes, they, by their reiolution of the 19th of January, approved of the prince of Orange's departure, as a measure of abfolute neceffity; declaring, moreover, that they were defirous of hearing of that Prince's fafe arrival in one of the ports of the kingdom of Great Britain on board a ship of war belonging to the ftates, and that he might shortly be able to return to the republic, in order to continue affifting them with his counsel and prefence for the maintenance of the independence and conftitutionof the republic. The prince's intention, of which he had already informed M. Van de Spiegel, penfionary counsellor, in his letter, was to inform himself, during his stay in England, of the fituation of affairs, as well in the provinces of Zeeland as in the provinces of Friezeland and Groningen, and to embark on board a fhip of war of the states for either of those provinces in which it should appear his prefence might be most useful. It is right to obferve that all correspondence between those provinces and the Hague was at that time intercepted, not only by the enemy but by the froft. As foon as the states of Holland had refolved to admit forces inimical to the republic of the United Provinces into the place where the States General were affembled, and had given orders to their different garrisons no longer to oppose the progress of the French, the prince of Orange was defirous that the States General, to whom this refolution had been communicated, should determine to diffolve their affembly, and to call it together again in one of the provinces which had not fubmitted to the yoke of the conqueror. The States General thought proper to remain atfembled in a place where the enemy's troops, joined by a number of malcontents, deprived them of the liberty of deliberating and doing what the public good required. The French troops having arrived at the Hague, the States General were compelled to do every thing that was exacted from them. The deputies lawfully named by the provinces of Holland were obliged to quit that affembly, and have been replaced by deputies named by those who have taken upon themselves the fupreme power of that province, under the name of provifional representatives of the people. These latter being admitted into the assembly of the States General, that affembly ceases to be legal, and the refolutions taken fince that time cannot be confidered as resolutions dictated by the real States General. The prince of Orange's defign. was, as has already been observed, to go into Zeeland, as foon as he should have received information relative to the fituation of affairs in that province, hoping that his prefence there might be useful. But the States General having given orders foon after the prince's departure, and nearly at the time of the arrival of the French troops at the Hague, to the commanding officers of Bergen-op-Zoom, Breda, Wilbemstadt and Steenbergen, fortreffes which still held out, to capitulate, likewise to the troops who were in those/provinces which had not yet fubmitted to the French, as also to the thips of the ftate, not to defend themselves against the French, the states of Zeeland were under the neceffity of following the example of those of Holland and Utrecht, in capi tulating for their province, or rather in fubmitting to the conqueror. The prince of Orange being informed of this resolution, and per, ceiving that his presence could no longer be of any service there, was obliged to give up his intention of going into Zeeland, and the ice having for a long while prevented all communication between the provinces of Friefland and Groningen with England, during that time the prince could not receive any intelligence from those provinces, and the first he received was, that they had fubmitted in the fame manner as the others had done, which frustrated his plan of going into either of those provinces. The prince of Orange waits with confidence the judgment which every impartial person will pass on his conduct, and cannot think it was expected he should remain in a country which had sfubmitted to the French arms, whilft the French national convention had declared war against him personally, and deliver himself into the hands of his enemies, with out being able thereby to furrender the least service to his country. He leaves it to the impartial public to judge if it is with reason that the pretended States General could declare, on the proposal of the self-named provisional repre. sentatives of the Dutch people, that the stadtholdership was abolished, because the stadtholder, captain and admiral general, had thought proper to quit his poft whilst the faid provifional representatives of the people of Holland judged it right, in the fame affembly where they have changed the form of government, and ufurped the fupreme power, to abolith those charges for the province of Holland, without assigning any other motive than that the nobility and hereditary offices were incompatible with equality. The prince of Orange confiders himself authorized to appeal to the whole universe from a resolution so unjust, and declares that he will not acknowledge as lawful any refolution taken by those who now call themfelves the States General, or States of the Provinces, as long as the republic shall be occupied by the French troops. He flatters himself, that if more fortunate circumftances should deliver his unhappy country from a foreign yoke, the nation restored to itself, and enjoying, as it has done for these two centuries, a true liberty founded upon law, will do him justice by not delaying to call him to the exercife of the hereditary charges which he poffefles in that republic, and which have been granted to his house, by the will of the nation, with the view of contributing to the maintenance of the religion, good order, independence and profperity of the state, and of the true liberty and well-being of its inhabitants. W. PR. OF ORANGE. Hampton Court Palace, Decree Decree of the King of Spain, dated THE expences of the present war being so great, and being ever defirous of eafing my beloved fubjects from imposts, taxes, and contributions, which are neceffary for fupporting the present war with vigour, which, in many respects, is of fo much importance to the nation, amongst whom our holy religion occupies the first place, I have reprefented to his holiness the Pope, by my minifter the plenipotentiary in Rome, the indifpensable neceffity of causing the eftates of the military orders to con tribute towards the faid expences, as likewise the religious order of St. John, in my dominions, by taxing them at the rate of twelve per cent. in kind or produce, or eight per cent. in money, per annum, and that the penfions of the Spanish order of Charles the Third should be included in this regulation. His holiness being convinced of the juft and urgent motives which render this impoft neceffary, had agreed, that it shall be levied, on condition that it is only to last two years after the expiration of the present war. This difpenfation, dated the 5th of November last, has been fent to the council of the orders, and in consequence, therefore, it shall cominence from the beginning of this year, through the medium of the general office for the impofition and levying of the respective twelve or eight per cent. upon the estates of the four military orders, as the contribution shall be either in produce or money, taking special care, by all means and precautions, that the fame may be levied justly and faithfully. Respecting the religious order of St. John and the royal Spanish order of Charles III. I have given the necessary orders for the collection of this temporal impoft; confequently, there only remains under the faid council, the exaction of the military orders on which it is to have immediate jurifdiction, putting the produce annually in the disposition and power of my fecretary of state and the office of finances, by which means all doubts or difficulties which may arife in, the execution of this, upon which head I give particular charge, will be beard in the council, and after jusily examining, order that the fulfilling shall be punctually complied with. In Aranjuez, 4th Feb. 1795. (Signed) THE DUKE OF HEJAR. Edict of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. HIS royal highness having, fince the very beginning of the present war, been of opinion, that it was neither juft nor convenient for Tuscany to take any active part' in the transactions which at this present time convulfe Europe, that the welfare and fafety of this country should not be entrusted to the preponderance of any of the belligerent powers, but to the facred right of nations, and to the inviolable faith of those treaties which guarantee the immunities, and of course the neutrality of the port of Leghorn; and lastly, that the natural and political situation of his dominions demand the most impartial line of conduct, has refolved, folved, with the strictest impartiality, to observe the edict of neutrality, published by his august father, under date the first of Auguft, 1778, as a fundamental law of the duchy. The beneficial consequences of this resolution rendered it highly agreeable to his beloved subjects, who, profiting by the trade and commerce of other nations, with out hurting any of them, found themselves relieved from those alarms and troubles which are oc cafioned by the fear of war. Whilft his royal highness enjoyed the fatisfaction of feeing that Tuscany, superior, as it were, to the occurrences of the times, rested peaceful and quiet on that neutrality, which was conftantly respected by the French republic, he found himself involved in those unpleasant tranfactions, which are already known to all Europe. Although his royal highnefs was unable to refift them, yet he consented to nothing but the removal of the French minifter re fiding at his court, the only act which the imperious circumftances of that period could extort from him, and which can never be quoted as an act derogatory to the conAitutional neutrality of Tuscany. The fincere explanation of these facts, which admit neither difcuffion nor refutation, and the impartial line of acting observed afterwards towards the French republic, as well as towards individuals of that nation, have restored Tuscany to the enjoyment of all the bleffings which had been taken from her. His royal highness having concluded with the national convention of France a treaty, calculated to re-establish his former neutrality for the benefit of his subjects, without encroaching upon the rights and interests of the belligerent powers, with refpect to whom he had never taken upon himself any particular obligation, has thought proper to publish the terms of that treaty. His royal highness therefore wills, that in all his dominions, the edict of neutrality of the ift of August, 1778, confirmed by the ordinance of the 2nd of March, 1790, and published at Leghorn on the 28th of April, 1792, be fcrupulously observed; for which purpose, a sufficient number of copies of this edict shall be fent to the confuls of foreign nations refiding at Leghorn, and to the Tufcan confuls refiding in foreign ports. Given on the 1st of March, 1795. FERDINAND, V. A. SERRISTORI, ERNEST DI GILKENS, Imperial Decree of Commiffion from the Emperor to the Diet at Ratisbon, reSpecting the Propofition for negotiating a Peace with France. The Preamble to this Decree contains a brief Statement of the Causes and Progress of the War, and the Proceedings of the Diet, till its laft reSolution relative to peace, after which it proceeds to the following purport : THAT the restoration of tranquillity to the empire, by a speedy peace, is an event to be defired, and cannot admit of a doubt in the mind of any one, who shall, for a moment, compare the heavy calamities occafioned by the present war, unexampled for the violence with which it has been conducted, |