of their co-eftates, the hereditary confervators and judges of all rights, and more particularly thofe of fucceffion, could not fail of feriously alarming all the Princes of the empire. Their tenures were all involved in the darkness, uncertainty, and frequent violence of early ages; their titles were to be fought for amidst all the rubbish of ancient jurifprudence, ftill more perplexed and confounded by local ufages, particular conventions, and family fettlements, which it would be now found difficult, if not impoffible to trace; and all the rights of a family, excepting those derived from prefcription, which were now fhewn to afford no fecurity, might depend upon a fingle record, buried in fome unknown repofitory, and in vain fought for until its difcovery perhaps became ufelefs. Nor were the claims upon which thefe proceedings were founded, by any means, even in the most favourable point of view, of that clear nature, which might ferve to palliate any irregularity or violence in the proceedings.

Befides this general effect, the Duke of Deuxponts, and the Electoral Houfe of Saxony, were deeply and materially affected in their respective interefts by thefe tranfactions; as the Dukes of Mecklenburg alfo were, but in a leffer degree. The Electrefs Dowager of Saxony, as only fifter, and as the neareft relation and heir of the late Elector of Bavaria, claimed a fole, and what was reprefented as an indifputable right in the fucceffion to all the allodial eftates in that dutchy. Though this claim took in very confiderable territorial poffeffions, it was rendered of fill

greater importance, by its comprehenfion of the purchase-money which had been paid by the Houfe of Bavaria, for the Upper Palatinate. For that territory was maintained to be in actual mortgage to her, for the 13 millions of Florins which Maximilian had paid for it to the House of Austria ; the money being not only to be fpecifically confidered as an allodium; but its being alfo fettled by the contract of fale with Ferdinand the Second, in the year 1628, that it should be reimbursed to the allodial heirs. As this Princefs ceded all her right in the allodial eftates, to her fon, the prefent Elector of Saxony; he of courfe became the acting party, upon that claim in this conteft. The claims of the Princes of Mecklenburg, which were proba bly founded upon the rights of fucceflion to a feperate fief, diftinct from the family compacts of the Palatine line, were confined to the Landgraviate of Luchtenburg.

The Prince of Deuxponts, loft no time in protefting against the prefent proceedings, as well as against the late convention between the Court of Vienna and the new Elector of Bavaria; and in calling upon the Princes and states that compofe the diet, both in their original character, and as Guarantees of the treaty of Weftphalia, to interfere in the prefervation of his rights. Though the general voice of the empire feems, fo far as it could be known, to be on this fide of the queftion; yet it would have been little heard, and lefs attended to, had not onė louder, and more aweful, than the reft united, in fome degree commanded regard.

The

The King of Pruffia, who has a jealous eye upon every thing which may aggrandize the Houfe of Auftria, and having no common intereft, as in the cafe of the partition of Poland, to tolerate Arong acts in favour of that House, undertook the fupport of the Princes who fuppofed themfelves injured, and the defence of the rights of the Germanic body. His public acts and memorials, whether at Vienna or Ratisbon, were, however, tempered with the greatest moderation, and bore every appearance of refpect and deference, as well to the head of the empire, as to his auguft mother, whilft any hope of an amicable accommodation of the conteft feemed to remain.

On the contrary, the Court of Vienna was rather fupercilious in her manner, and affumed a high, haughty, and decifive tone. She knew her own rights; was the proper judge of them; and fhewed little difpofition to give any fatisfaction to others on the fubject. On the whole, though fhe did not entirely neglect to give answers to the ftrong memorials made against her, yet fhe was charged with placing rather more reliance on her power than her arguments. In the first formal April 10th. anfwer which was laid 1778. before the Diet, to a memorial of the Pruffian minifter, the fubject of conteft was treated merely as a private arrangement between the Court of Vienna and the Elector Palatine, in which no other state was concerned. The latter having acknowledged the claims of the former, an amicable accommodation relative to the fettlement and divifion of Bavaria,

accordingly took place; which afforded no juft ground for the interference of any third power, in a business which only properly concerned the contracting parties. That as this tranfaction did not bear the leaft fhadow of difmembering a Prince of the empire by force, as had been reprefented by the Elector of Brandenburg, but was founded on juft pretenfions and a friendly agreement; his Imperial Majefty did not think himself any ways accountable to any Prince of the empire for the measures he had purfued. It concluded, in this early ftate of the controversy with a declaration, that the Em. peror being thoroughly fatisfied of the justice of the caufe in which he had embarked, was determined to perfevere in the measures which he had adopted, and to fupport his pretenfions by arms.

It does not appear that the Court of Vienna was more difpofed to admit the nature or founda. tion of its claims to the cognizance of the Diet. These were communicated only to the public through the letters patent which that Court iffued for taking poffeffion of the respective territories in question; or through the medium of the anonymous publications in fupport or juftification of its conduct, which were circulated at Vienna and Ratisbon; and which were accordingly liable to any interpretation or difavowal that might be thought neceffary.

On the very day after the delivery of that memorial, which ftat ed the friendly nature of the agreement between the Courts of Vienna and Munich; another was prefented from the latter to the Diet, complaining of the late feizure of

about

about twenty additional districts by the Auftrians, and ftating the Elector's right to thofe places. The will of the late Elector of Bavaria was also laid before the Diet, which afforded the fulleft conviction, that that Prince, not only confidered the fucceffion to his domi nions to be as fully and inherently established in the Palatine line, as the warmest oppofers of the prefent meafures could poffibly fuggeft, but that his inclinations alfo went along with the course of defcent; in confirmation of which he adopted a meafure, which he perhaps was not legally enabled to do, by devifing all the allodial eftates of Bavaria to the prefent Elector. He alfo bound him and his heirs for ever, to maintain a conftant army of 10000 effective men in that Electorate; a claufe which would have been equally futile and impracticable under the circumstances of the prefent fubfraction of territory.

The King of Pruffia was not lefs fervent in his direct reprefentations to the Court of Vienna, in favour of the Palatine line, and the other claimants of the Bavarian fucceffion, than he was induftrious in refuting its pretenfions, and laying open the dangerous tendency of the prefent meafures before the Diet of the empire. That Court feemed, however, determined on its meafures, and both refolved and prepared to fupport them at all

events.

In anfwer to the preffing folicitations of that Monarch, for withdrawing the Auftrian troops out of the territories of Bavaria, and fubmitting the different claims upon that fucceffion to a legal enquiry and decifion, according to the

laws and conftitution of the empire; his minifter at Vienna received the following declaration, in the beginning of April, from the Imperial Court.

"That they would no longer continue difcuffing their own rights.

That they would not defift from keeping poffeffion of territories legally acquired. - That juftice fhould be rendered to all who had the leaft pretenfions to it, but that her Imperial Majefty would never admit that a Prince of the empire fhould arrogate to himself the authority of judge or tutor in his eoprincipalities, or to conteft about their rights.-That the Court of Vienna knew how to defend, and even to attack him who durft prefume to do it.- That notwithftanding they fhould adopt every admiffible means which could be judged proper, to maintain the general tranquillity.

This anfwer, which can scarcely be confidered as lefs than tantamount to a declaration of war, was not, however, fufficient to overcome that guard and caution, by which his Pruffian Majefty feems to have particularly regulated his conduct in this whole business. He ftill remonftrated, and fill fought for explanation. At length the Court of Vienna yielded to fome general juftification of her conduct, and expofition of her intentions, in a memorial delivered by Prince Kau

May 7th.

nitz to the Pruffian Minifter.

The principal ground of juftification taken in this piece was, that the Elector Palatine had no complaint of that Court; and that the Prince of Deuxponts had no right to interfere in the business, during the existence of the prefent

line in poffeffion. It was faid that her Imperial Majefty did not oppofe the pretenfions of the Elector of Saxony, or the Dukes of Mecklenburg; and a defire, or intention was held out, that all the claims might be examined conjointly with thofe of the Emprefs Queen, and that a legal decifion might put an end to a conteftation, which the Court of Berlin had thought proper to excite.

In answer to this it was observed, that the Court of Vienna was already in the violent and forcible poffeffion, which it abfolutely refufed to relinquish, of all the objects of contention; and that though a legal decifion is talked of, no competent tribunal is mentioned, to which it would fubmit the award; but that on the contrary, that Court had conftantly rejected with the utmost contempt every propofal of that nature; fo that if the expreffion of legal decifion was intended to mean any thing, it muft fignify that the Emperor was to be the judge in his own cause. It is eafily feen, that if the Prince of Deuxponts had fuffered his claims to lie dormant, until the Auftrian title to Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate was ftrengthened by length of poffeffion and all its confequences, how futile his attempts of recovering them muft *then prove:

Previous, however, to the delivery of this memorial, a negociation was opened upon new ground; and attended with fome circum ftances, which feemed to afford room for hoping, that thefe differences might be terminated amicably. In the courfe of the difcuffion at Vienna and Ratisbon, and the great preparations for war

which were made on both fides; the great force of the Auftrian armies was collected in Bohemia and Moravia,, which of courfe drew the Pruffian forces from the diftant Provinces to the frontiers of thofe countries. Thefe movements allo drew the King of Pruffia into Silefia, and the Emperor into Bohemia, about the fame time in the month of April. In this fituation, a direct correspondence by letters was opened by the Emperor, and carried on between the two Monarchs, with an apparent view to an accommodation.

A negociation was accordingly opened at Berlin, under the conduct on one fide of Count Cobentzel, the Imperial Minifter. The first propofals made by this Minifter were fimple and laconic. That the King should acknowledge the validity of the convention which the Emprefs Queen had concluded with the Elector Palatine, and her legal title to thofe territories which the poffeffed in confequence of that treaty; and that he should also leave all other arrangements to be fettled by these two Princes as they liked, whether they might relate to particular diftricts, or to the whole of the dcminion of Bavaria. That it might not be fuppofed this ufeful conpliance was to pafs without due reward, the Court of Vienna was to be bound, to favour the King's convenience and pleafure, in all things that related to the fucceffion of the Houfe of Brandenburg, to the countries of Anfpach and Bareuth, on the failure of iffue male, in thofe two younger branches of his own family.

Το pave the way for the fuccefs of thefe propofitions, the Court of

Vienna

on.

Vienna laid down the following general principles, to govern the conduct of both Courts in their mutual transactions, as tending to conciliation, and to equitable conclufions: viz. That each Court fhould put itself in the other's place; that neither fhould demand any thing contrary to the dignity of the other; nor any thing, if the fituation was reverfed, which it would not think right to be infifted The immediate application of these principles was, that if his Pruffian Majefty, on a principle of political convenience, would not oppofe the aggrandizement of the House of Auftria in Bavaria; the latter, on the fame principle, fhould not oppofe the aggrandizement of that of Brandenburg, when a fit opportunity offered, for reuniting the countries of Bareuth and Anfpach in her line; and to give a permanency to this compact, and to render the motives clear and indifputable, it was propofed, that those reasons and coalitions of interests, should be laid down as the bafis of the prefent convention.

This propofition feemed to breathe the fpirit, which produced the partition of Poland. But the cafes and times did not refemble each other. The King of Pruffia evidently derived more benefit from the character of the Protector of the rights of the Princes of the empire, than from any thing to be acquired in virtue of this offer. He therefore rejected those propofitions, which evidently tended to the establishment of fuch an union between those great powers, found ed upon political convenience, and mutual aggrandizement, as might have been extended in its effects, to the dismemberment of all the

ftates in Germany, without any fes curity, after all, for peace or final good intelligence, between the powers who had facrificed their neighbours to a prefent and preca rious agreement. Unfortunately, however, though the fcheme has failed for the prefent, the defign is too ftrongly sketched to be worn out of memory, and may be too foon adopted in future practice..

The King anfwered, that he oppofed the difmemberment of Bavaria, only because he looked upon it as totally unjuft, and as deftruc tive of all liberty and fafety in Germany. That he was not averse to the aggrandizement of the House of Auftria in juft acquifitions. That it was wrong to blend the prefent dismemberment, which the Houfe of Austria had no right to do, with a diftant, but inconteftible acqui fition belonging to the House of Brandenburg. And, that he could not accept of a treaty, which would overthrow the very butt of his oppofition, and which stated nothing upon the just re-establifhment of the Palatine House in Bavaria, nor towards the fatisfaction of the Elector of Saxony.

Though the Court of Vienna abfolutely refused to propose any conditions that feemed to the King of Pruffia, more precife or fatisfactory than thofe already laid down; the King, ftill perfevering in his endeavours to prevent a rupture, reMay 26th. mitted to that Court a plan of ac commodation. By this it was propofed, that for the fake of peace, the Elector Palatine fhould be engaged to cede to the Court of Vienna; two great diftricts belonging to Bavaria, which were fituated contiguous to Bohemia and

Auftria