But meanwhile in Italy the French had been completely successful. Buonaparte reached the French headquarters at Nice on the 26th of March, and immediately set himself to organise and inspirit the forces, which were in great disorder; he found the commissariat also in a deplorable condition. The troops amounted to fifty thousand; the Austrians, under the veteran General Beaulieu, to considerably more. The united army of the Sardinians and Austrians, Beaulieu on the left, d'Argenteau in the centre, and Colli with the Piedmontese division on the right, hastened to descend from the Apennines, to which they had retreated at the end of the last campaign. Beaulieu met the French advanced guard at Voltri, near Genoa, on the 11th of April, and drove it back. But d'Argenteau had been stopped in the mountains by the resistance of a body of French, who occupied the old redoubt of Montenotte. Buonaparte, apprised of this, hurried up additional forces to that point, and defeated d'Argenteau before Beaulieu or Colli could succour him. Having now divided the army of the Allies, Buonaparte defeated a strong body of Austrians under General Wukassowich; and having left Colli and the Piedmontese isolated from their Allies, debouched by the valley of Bormida into the plains of Piedmont. Beaulieu retreated to the Po, to stop the way to Milan; and Buonaparte, relieved of his presence, turned against Colli, who was compelled to retreat to Carignano, near Turin. Trembling for his capital, and with his means exhausted, Victor Amadeus made overtures for peace, which were accepted; the terms being the surrender of all the Piedmontese fortresses and the passes of the Alps into the hands of the French, and the perpetual alienation of Nice and Savoy. This humiliation broke the heart of the poor old king, who died on the 16th of October. Buonaparte, however, did not wait for the conclusion of this peace; the truce being signed, he hastened on after Beaulieu whom he defeated and drove across the Po. Beaulieu next posted himself at Lodi, on the Adda; but Buonaparte, after a fierce contest, drove him from the bridge over the Adda on the 10th of May, and with little further opposition pursued him to Milan. Beaulieu still retreated, and threw himself into the fastnesses of the Tyrol. On the 15th Buonaparte made a triumphal entry into Milan, and immediately sent troops to blockade Mantua. Buonaparte then advanced into the Papal States, rifling the Monti de Piet at Bologna and Ferrara. Everywhere contributions were demanded at the point of the bayonet, and French authorities superseded the native ones. Pius VI. made haste to sue for peace, and it was granted on the most exorbitant terms. Fifteen millions of francs must be paid down in cash, six millions in horses and other requisites for the army. A great number of paintings and statues were to be selected from the galleries of art, and five hundred manuscripts from the library of the Vatican. The provinces of Ferrara and Bologna must be ceded; the port and citadel of Ancona, and all the Papal ports, must be closed against the British. This most costly peace was signed on the 23rd of June, and Buonaparte hastened northward to stop the advance of the army of Wurmser, which had been sent through the Tyrol to compete with the rising Corsican.The garrison of Gibraltar was all this time hard pressed by the Spaniards. Florida Blanca had made a convention with the Emperor of Morocco to refuse the English any supplies; those thrown in by Rodney the year before were nearly exhausted, and they were reduced to grave straits. Admiral Darby was commissioned to convoy one hundred vessels laden with provisions, and to force a way for them into the garrison. Darby not only readily executed his commission, to the great joy of the poor soldiers, but he blockaded the huge Spanish fleet under Admiral Cordova, in the harbour of Cadiz, whilst the stores were landing.
Director
The coasting trade carried on by means of steamers underwent an astounding development during the twenty years now under review. In 1820 there were but nine steamers engaged in it, with a tonnage of 500. The next year there were 188 steamers, and thenceforth they went on doubling for several years. In 1830 the number of vessels was nearly 7,000, with a tonnage of more than a million; in 1840 it was upwards of 15,000, with a tonnage of nearly three millions; and in 1849 it was 18,343, with a tonnage of upwards of four millions and a quarter. This account does not include vessels arriving and departing in ballast or with passengers only, which are not required to enter the Custom House. Steam-vessels were not employed in this kingdom for conveying goods coastwise before 1820, nor in foreign trade, except for the conveyance of passengers, earlier than 1822. In the foreign trade the number of steamers increased gradually from that year till they reached the number of 4,000, with an aggregate tonnage of 800,000.[269] Victory of PittThe King's delightPitt's FinanceThe India BillPitt's BudgetThe Westminster ElectionThe ScrutinyFox is returnedThe Volunteers in IrelandFlood's Reform BillRiots in IrelandPitt's Commercial Policy for IrelandOpposition of the English MerchantsAbandonment of the MeasurePitt's Reform BillHis Administrative ReformsBill for fortifying Portsmouth and PlymouthPitt's Sinking FundFavourable Reception of the BillPitt's Excise BillCommercial Treaty with FranceImpeachment of Warren HastingsRetrospect of Indian Affairs: Deposition of Meer JaffierResistance of Meer CossimMassacre of PatnaBattle of Buxar and Capture of AllahabadClive's Return to IndiaSettlement of Bengal and OudeDomestic ReformsRise of Hyder AliHis Treaty with the EnglishHe is defeated by the MahrattasDeposition of the Rajah of TanjoreFailure of Lord Pigot to reinstate himLord North's Regulating BillDeath of CliveWarren Hastings becomes Governor-GeneralHis dealings with the FamineTreatment of Reza Khan and the Nabob of BengalResumption of Allahabad and CorahMassacre of the RohillasArrival of the New Members of CouncilStruggle for SupremacyRobbery of Cheyte SingNuncomar's ChargesHis Trial and ExecutionHastings' Constitutional ResignationHis Final VictoryWars against the MahrattasHyder Ali's AdvanceDefeat of BaillieEnergy of HastingsVictories of Sir Eyre CooteCapture of Dutch SettlementsNaval Engagements between the British and FrenchDeath of Hyder AliTippoo continues the WarHe invokes PeaceHastings' extortions from Cheyte SingHastings' visit to BenaresRising of the PeopleRescue of Hastings and Deposition of Cheyte SingExtortion from the Begums of OudeParliamentary InquiriesHastings' Reception in EnglandBurke's Motion of ImpeachmentPitt's Change of FrontThe Prince of Wales and the WhigsInquiry into his DebtsAlderman Newnham's MotionDenial of the Marriage with Mrs. FitzherbertSheridan's Begum SpeechImpeachment of HastingsGrowth of the Opposition to the Slave TradeThe Question brought before ParliamentEvidence ProducedSir W. Dolben's BillTrial of Warren HastingsSpeeches of Burke, Fox, and SheridanIllness of the KingDebates on the Regency BillThe King's RecoveryAddress of the Irish Parliament to the Prince of Wales.As the French now made vigorous preparations for war, George II. began to tremble for Hanover, and put out all his energies to accomplish fresh alliancesof course, at the cost of fresh subsidies to be paid by England. Hesse-Cassel, the Empress of Russia, and even his old enemy, Frederick of Prussia, were applied to, and engaged, by promises of English money, in defence of Hanover. George was especially afraid of Frederick, who was bound by no ties where his interest was at stake, and who, if not retained at a high rate, might fall on Hanover as he had done on Silesia. In gaining Frederick, however, George lost his old ally, Austria, which, forgetting all past obligations, immediately made alliance with France.