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INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 367are here generallythe times of factions ; which, althoughthey may not directly bring on a civil war, do not the lessgnaw at the very heart of the state. An active participationin foreign affairs, on the other hand, is well calculated toavert the internal fermentation ;it affords a subject of common interest to all; whereas men's political opinions invariably become divided when they turn only upon theirdomestic relations.This, however, will not, it is hoped, be understood as adefence of rash and general interference in foreign politicsand wars. Between such thoughtless interference and inthe interdolent apathy, there is a medium which is fixed byest and the strength of the power concerned and it is ;ofthe observance of this medium that we are now speaking.In order not to exceed it,the statesman must have not onlyclear and fixed notions respecting the real interests, but alsorespecting the extent of influence which the state possesses,of which he guides the helm ;and the latter of these seemsno less difficult to attain to than the former ;for the delusions of pride and self-conceit are to the full as dangerousas those of ambition and self-interest.These considerations may serve as an introduction to thefollowing inquiry, which has for its aim, an historical development of the continental interests of Great Britain, duringthe last three centuries. The task which I propose to myself, is to give, in chronological arrangement, a review ofthe links by which the politicaland mercantile interests ofEngland were bound up with those of the continent ;andto examine how they became united, and how loosened.Unconnected and transient relations, such as sometimes arosein the course of great wars, do not come under our consideration ;those only which were lasting deserve our attention. The history of the continental interests of Britaincan be clearly viewed only, by considering it according tothe periods in which it was subject to its principal changes."We must therefore take the following: 1. The period fromHenry VIL to Elizabeth. 2. of Elizabeth. 3. That^hatof the Stewarts, down to William III. 4. That of WilliamIII. and Anne. 5. That of the house of Hanover, down tothe commencement of the French Revolution. 6. The period from this, down to the restoration of the political system of Europe, which the revolution had destroyed.