The Virginia Gazette

From the Gentleman's Magazine.
State of Foreign Affairs.

If we recollect the Transactions of the Year past so far as they regard
the political System of Europe, it will appear that they have tended
chiefly to the Establishment of Peace, the Improvement of Trade, the
Cultivation of Arts, and the Advancement of mutual Harmony among
the several Powers.
The Northern States, particularly Russia and Sweden, tho' perhaps more
easily provoked to War than any other, are yet in a State of most cordial
Friendship. To one of the best of Kings that ever govern'd Sweden, has
succeeded a Prince, who, if we may judge of the Progress of his Reign,
by its Beginning, bids fair to assuage the Animosities that prevail among
the Subjects, by uniting them in one Pursuit, that of the true Interest of their
Country. Nor is Russia less happy in a Sovereign; the present Empress by
her prudent and steady Conduct towards her Neighbours, and by her mild
and equitable Government, has carried the Grandeur and Importance of her
Empire to a greater Height than any of her Predecessors.
Denmark boasts a Monarch so eminently Good, that his Reign has af-
forded uninterrupted Happiness to his People, who have nothing to lament
but the Loss of that amiable Princess, their late most excellent Queen.
Prussia, from her Connection with the Empire, has, by a Stroke in
Politics, hardly to be paralleled, risen to command that Balance of Power
in Europe, so long the Boast of the Maritime Powers. The Prince upon the
Throne, as he has already displayed his Capacity for War, has turned his
Thoughts on the Arts of Peace. The new Charter which he has lately so
amply extended, and so strongly confirmed to the Asiatic Company, is a
Proof of what Importance he esteems the Cultivation of Commerce, and
how much he has at Heart that grand Point of making the Port of Emden
the Key to the Trade of the Empire.
The new Subsidy Treaty concluded with the King of Poland, Elector
of Saxony, by the Maritime Powers, and some wise Regulations made
with regard to the Manufacture of Porcelane at Dresden, are no inconsider-
able Advantages to that impoverished Country.
The imperial Court of Germany has been chiefly employ'd during the last Year in facilitating the Election of the young Arch-duke of Austria, to be King of the Romans; a Measure chiefly oppos'd by his Prussian Majesty, rather perhaps to shew his Importance, and to bring the Empress Queen to ratify the Cession of those Provinces torn from the Imperial Dominions during the late War, than totally to defeat it. The Kings of Spain and Portugal have been employed without Enemies; the King of Portugal in redressing the Grievances caused by the Ignorance and Bigotry of a weak Ecclesiastick, who governed absolutely during the long Indisposition of his late Majesty; and the King of Spain in repairing the Losses sustained in the War, as well by the Decay of Trade, the Neglect of the Manufactures, and the Destruction of the Marine, as by that Profusion of Expence, which totally exhausted the Finances, and impoverish'd the People. France is busied in rendering herself formidable, and is consequently suspected by her Neighbours. Her Armies consist already of more than 400,000 disciplined Troops, and are every where augmenting; her Navy, which was in a ruinous Condition at the End of the last War, is repaired and increased; and her Commerce is become flourishing and extensive. Besides her Trade to Canada for Furrs, to St. Domingo for Indigo, to Martinico for Sugars, and to the East and West-Indies for their various Productions, she is preparing to monopolize the Slaves, Gold, and Gums of Africa. Her Colonies are supported with Diligence and Inflexibility; her Manufacturers encouraged by Premiums and Pensions; and her Traffic and Merchandize extended to the remotest Corners of the Earth. By this Rivalry in commercial Glory, the Dutch are far from being unaffected; to maintain their Dignity, and to allure the Merchant with the Hope of Gain, they are opening their Ports to all Nations, reducing the Duties upon Goods, and strengthening their Colonies abroad. The Loss of that Father of his Country, the Prince of Orange, has greatly embarrassed their Affairs, which is no otherwise to be repair'd but by a steady Pursuit of those Measures which he had plann'd for the Public Good. As to our own Affairs, let us hope that the flourishing State of the Nation, the gradual Diminution of the public Debts, the enacting many good Laws, and the equal Distribution of Justice, will render us no less happy and respected than the most ambitious and envied of our Neighbours.