tude of Belleisle,-we cannot be surprised to find that Louis began to exhibit some inclination to put an end to a war by which his subjects were impoverished, and their commerce entirely interrupted. The French monarch was already in this mind, when intelligence reached him, that the king of England, having partially remodelled his cabinet, and by so doing, overcome whatever of bitterness actuated the opposition in parliament, was prepared to subsidize the empress of Russia, and to throw the weight of that formidable power into the scale against him. Such information had, of course, no tendency to render him less pacific, more especially at a moment when the States of Holland, by electing the prince of Orange to the office of stadtholder, gave proof of their determination to enter zealously into the contest. The consequence was, that commissioners soon met at Aix-laChapelle, by whom all preliminary matters were adjusted; and, in the months of September and October, 1748, a definitive treaty was ratified. It stipulated for a mutual restoration of all conquests on both sides; for an exchange of prisoners on equal terms; for the cession of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, to the infant Don Philip, subject, however, to this condition,-that on his assumption of the Spanish crown, or of that of the Two Sicilies, or in the event of his demise without heirs male, they should revert to the house of Austria. As the enemy had prevailed in the East to the full as much as England succeeded in the West, there was little in all this of which Englishmen had a right to complain; but when it was further stipulated, that two persons of rank should be sent to Paris, as hostages for the surrender of Cape Breton, then, indeed, the national honour suffered some stain. Nor was this all. Though the original ground of quarrel between Great Britain and Spain arose out of the right of Englishmen to navigate the American seas, no notice whatever was taken of that claim in the treaty. Even the boundaries of the French settlement of Acadia were undetermined, being referred to the decision, at a more convenient moment, of commissioners. Nevertheless, a peace, which, as might have been foreseen, carried with it from the first, the groundwork of a new war, was hailed in London, as the greatest of all blessings; while the wisdom of those by whom it was negotiated became a standing subject of declamation,-not merely in a House of Commons devoted to the will of the minister, but in other, and, as might have been supposed, less-prejudiced assemblies. 31 CHAPTER II. RENEWAL OF WAR.CHANGE OF MINISTRY.-CANADA OF MINDEN.-DEATH OF GEORGE THE [A. D. 1748, to A. D. 1760.] SECOND.-CHA FROM the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, down to the year 1755, there occurred few events in the European history of England, of which the narrative would convey much either of instruction or amusement to the general reader. At home, the composition of the king's government underwent a partial change, which led, as a matter of course, to the modification of various laws and usages. Mr. Pitt, afterwards earl of Chatham, Mr. Littleton, and Mr. Fox, joined Mr. Pelham in the cabinet, and lent their aid to carry through several measures, of which, some manifestly tended to promote the welfare of the country, while of others, the utility may be questioned. Among the former, it may be worth while to particularize a revision and improvement of the Articles of War; an attempt, unfortunately defeated, to substitute a system of registration for impressment in manning the royal navy; the commencement of a trade in iron with the colonies in North America, where, also, encouragement was given to the growth of silk; and an arrangement, by which, without any breach of ‹ faith with the public creditor, the interest of the national debt was considerably reduced. In dealing with the slave-trade, also, at best an odious traffic, -the government evinced a disposition to act fairly. Instead of restricting it, as heretofore, to a privileged company, they threw it open to the nation at large; and thereby gave scope both to the enterprise and |