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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 JftfV ■0 ■ '.'^■■ r •'A**''''' ■! ^»„-. . »;.f ./-4 ^M' :. W©^'^ -:^' >*••-■ •»• / SSr «■* Wi^i^ ^' <^f •(-»■.•; •c/- i"S Wn. \ r 'A "4* ' xVIR. FOX'S LEITER TO THE 1* 1 * af ;>/ ELECTORS OF WESTMINSTER. »►-. ^ ^^ ft «3U- *■»»•» " (Entcteti at S)tationcr9 I^alf. i ', 7 \ i- "^"ir ^-;'t ^ W i. ■■' 'J1 ,/ i«" .^.■■ ^ fHesam^j-.u^- ri^ ' -iii-Ws*^ p*.-«irvi ■^^f \ [x.-w^^^ijf!T«r*^ ■ y i 7 «^ ^-J:r;m :««^, -#■-■'>' -.L ^<4^ . M I I /' ' I / \ I \ cn FRII LETTER o KROM 1 H F RIGlir IIONOURAWJ: CHARLES JAMES FOX, TO THE WORTHY AND INDEPENDENT ELECTORS OF THE CITY and LIBERTY of WESTMINSTER. LONDON: PRINTED VOX J, DEBRETT, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON HOUSE, PICCADILLY. 1793. - Ij I • 1 • W \ '^^^^-«^«Ei *^,. k. jr ?M» ^■•!?JPIS««S>-^ / *, K\' \ t .:• 'i'^ % .* / ' I I \ r •■- s n -, « LETTER, &c. i. -I / Yy ■■V il • I'M ^^nsuMrn^' ♦" I ^O vote in fmall minorities is a mif- ■*' fortune to which I have been fo much accuflomed, that I cannot be expected to feel it very acutely. To be the objed of calumny and miire- prefentation gives me uneafmefs, it is true, but an uneafmefs not wholly unmixed with pride and fatisfadion, (ince i le experience of all ages and countries teaches that ca- lumny and mifreprefentation are frequently the moft unequivocal teftimonies of the zeal, and poflibly the efFed:, with which he B againft ,^«,^. ..„'^j;».-*i.i*i*** m ai] i < « 1 t. i t ■*%^ ( 2 ) agaiiift whom they are directed has fcrved the puhlic. But I am informed that I now labour under a misfortune of a far different nature from thcfe, and wliich can excite no other 'fenfations than thofe of concern and humi- liation. 1 am told that you in general dil- approve my late condud, and that, even among thofe whofe partiality to me was moft confpicuous, there are many who, when I am attacked upon the prefent oc- cafion, profefs themfelves neither able nor willing to defend me. That your unfavourable opinion of mc (if in fad you entertain any fuch) is owing to mifrcprefentation, I can have no doubt. To do away the effeds of this mifrcprefen- tation is the objecl of this letter, and I know Qf no mode by which lean accomplifh this objed J. ■"•'*§««;.. »^*f ( 1 P H "^ ^^— lilWlii on... , »ftfe«w i. T V. ( 3 ) obje£t at once (o fairly, and (as I hope) Co eftedually, as by dating to you the diifcrcnt motions which I made in the Houfc of Commons in the firft days of this fcifion, together with the motives and arguments which induced me to make them. On the firft day I moved the Houfe to fubfli- tute, in place of the Addrefs, the following Amendment : \\ ( \ <( "■ To exprefs to Mis Majelly our moft " zealous attachment to the excellent con- *' ftitution of this free country, our fenfe *' of the invaluable bleflings which are de- *' rived from it, and our unfhaken deter- *' mination to maintain and preferve it. " To afTure His Majefty, that uniting with ** all His Majefty 's faithful fubjeds in thofc " fentiments of loyalty to the Throne, and " attachment to the Conftitution, we feel in *' common with them the decpeft anxiety B 2 « and ■■■'^•'iippp*"^ ( 4 ) " and concern, when we fee thofe meafure* " adopted by the Executive Government, ** which the law authorizes only in cafes of " infurrcdlion within this realm. ** That His Majeftys faithful Commons, ** aflembled in a manner new and alarming *' to the country, think it their firft duty, *' and will make it their firft bufmefs, to " inform themfelves of the caufes of this '* mcafure, being equally zealous to enforce " a due obedience to the laws on the one " hand, and a faithful execution of them '* on the other." r My motive for this meafure was, that I thought it highly important, both in a conftitutional and a prudential view, that the Houfe fliould be thoroughly informed of the ground of calling out the militia, and of ( s ) of Its own meeting, before It proceeded upon other bufinefs. The Law enables the King, in certain cafes, by the advice of his Privy Council, having previoufly declared the caufe, to call forth the militia — and pofitively enjoins, that, whenever fuch a meafure is taken,. Parliament (hall be fummoned imme- diately« This law, which provided that we fliould meet, feemed to me to point out to us our duty when met, and to require of us, if not by its letter, yet by a fair interpre- tation of its fpirit, to make it our firft bufi- nefs, to examine into the caufes, that had been ftated in the Proclamation as the mo- tives for exercifing an extraordinary power lodged in the Crown for extraordinary oc- cafions; to afcertain whether they were true '.1 t. \ r ( 6 ) true in faiSt, and whether, if true, they were of fuch a nature as to warrant '•he proceeding that had been grounded on them. Such a mode of condudl, if right upon general principles, appeared to me peculiarly called for by the circumftances under which we were aflembled ; and by the ambiguity with which the caufes of reforting for the firft time to this prerogative were ftated and defended. The infurredions (it was faid) at Yar- mouth, Shields, and other places, gave Mi- ni fters a legal right to aO: ; and the general date of the country, independently of the'e infurredions, made it expedient for them to avail themfclves of this right. In other words, infurredion was the pretext, the general ftate of the country the caufi of the mea- fure. -*m:^ Tr:::j-' "-^X gfM^^ FiiH^^'^^]^ ( 7 ) lure. Yet infurrcdion was the motive ftated ia the Proclamation ; and the A3, of Parliament enjoins the difclorure, not of the pretext, but of the caufe : fo that it ap- peared to be doubtful whether even the let- ter of the law had been obeyed ; but if it had, to this mode of profefling one motive and acting upon another, however agreeable to the habits of fome men, I thought it my duty to diffuade the Houfe of Commons from giving any fandion or countenance whatever. In a prudential view, furely information ought to precede judgment ; and we were bound to know what really was the ftate of the country, before we delivered our opi- nion of it in the Addrefs. Whenever the Houfe is ftalled upon to deckire an opir/ion of this nature, the weieht which ous-ht to belong to fuch a declaration, ma-^es it highly 4 important |ii ■ir^ I ..i- -^ -<*-"»uM«ia»wB«kti^*i^ f "T^PTPWi*^! > l' V i ) •■ V { 8 ) important that it fhould be founded on the moft authentic information, and that it Ihould be clear and diftind. Did the Houfe mean tc approve the meafure taken by Adminiftration, upon the ground of the public pretence of infurredions ? If fo, they were bound to have before them the fads relative to thofe infurredions, to the produdion of which no objedion could be ftated. Did they mean by their Addrefs to declare that the general fituation of the country was in itfelf a juftification of what had been done? Upon this fuppofition, it appeared to me equally neceflary for them fo to inform themfelves, as to enable them to ftate with precifion to the public the circumftances'in this fituation to which they particularly adverted. If they faw reafon to fear impending tumults and in- furredions, of which the danger was immi- nent and prefling, the meafures of His Ma- jefty's +■1 *«.■ */•* S t ( 9 ) jelly's Minlfters might be well enough adapted to fuch an exigency ; but furely the evidence of fuch a danger was capable of being fubmitted either to the Houfe or to a Secret Committee ; and of its exiftence without fuch evidence, no man could think it becoming for fuch a body. as the Houfe of Common to declare their belief. If therefore the Addrefs was to be founded upon either of the fuppofitions above ftated, a previous enquiry was abfolutely neceflary. But there were fome whofe apprehenfions were direded not fo much to any infurrec- tions, either aduaily exifting or immediately impending, as to the progrefs of what are called French opinions, propagated (as is fuppofed) with induftry, and encouraged by fucccfs ; and to the mifchiefs which might in future time arife from the fpi- rit of dlfobedience and diibrder, which thefe dodrines are calculated to infpire. C This I ' I \ ■ 7i J J 1% \ IK I ,1 t]' I i ' \ I I I- .1 :i'> ( 10 ) This danger, iliey faid, was too notorious to rc(|uirc proof ; it3 reality could better be afcertained by the fcparate cbfervations of individual members, than by any proceeding which the Houfc coulu inftitute in its col- ledive capacity ; and upon this ground, therefore, the Ad^rcfs might be fafcly voted, without any pievious enquiry. To have laid any ground for approving without examination, w'as a great point gained for thofe who wifhed to applaud the conduct of AdminiPiration ; but in this inflance 1 fear the found :tion has been laid, without due regard to the nature of the fu- pcrilru^lure, which it is intended to fupport ; for, if the danger con fill in falfe but fcduc- ing theories, and our apprehenfions be conceriiing what fuch tiieories may in procefs of time produce, to fuch an evil it is diihcult to conceive liow any of the mea- fures wdiich have been purfucd are in any degree ,• t ( II ) degree applicable. Opinions muft have taken the fliapc of overt ads, before they can be refilled by the fortihcations in the Tower; and the fudden embodying of the Militia, and the drawing of the regular troops to the capital, fccni to me meafures calculated to meet an immediate, not a diftant mifchief. ImprefTed with thefe Ideas, I could no more vote upon this laft vague reafon, than upon thofe of a more definite nature; fiiice, if in one cafe the premifes wanted proof, in the other, where proof was faid to be fuperfluous, the conclufiou was not jufl. If the majority of the Houfe thought differently from me, and if this laft ground of general apprchenfion of future evils (the only one of all that were ftated, upon which it could with any colour of reafon be pre- tended that evidence was not both pradi- cable and neceflary), appeared to them to c 2 j^ft'^fy I nr.: -4\^ ►i*^- J ■Ji "f'-' ; ■^*''>ft"— -JM«j.je«a.^=-»u^ b V i \ ,11 tr ( '2 ) julify the mcafures of Government; tlien I iay tliey ought to have declared explicitly the true meaning of their vote, and either to have difclainied diftinclly any belief in thofe impending tumults and infurredions, which had filled the minds of fo many thou- fands of our fellow fubjedls vv'ith the moft anxious apprehenfions ; or to have com- menced an inquiry concerning them, the refult of which would have enabled the Houfe to lay before the public a true and authentic ftate of the nation, to put us upon our guard againft real perils, and to diflipate chimerical alarms. I am aware that there were fome perfons who thought that to be upon our guard was fo much our firft intereft, in the pre- jfent pofture of affairs, that even to conceal the truth was lefs mifchievous than to dimi- nifh the public terror. They dreaded in- quiry, lefl it fhould produce light ; they felt \: \ ( 13 ) felt fo ftrongly the advantage of obfcurlty in infpiring terror, that they overlooked its other property of caufing real peril. They were fo alive to the dangers belonging to falfe fecurity, that they were infenfible to thofe arifing from groundlefs alarms. In this frame of mind they might for a mo- ment forget that integrity and fmcerity ought ever to be the charadieriftic virtues of a Britilh Houfe of Commons ; and while they were compelled to admit that the Houfe could not, without inquiry, profefs its belief of dangers, which ^if true) might be fubftantiated by evidence, they might neverthelefs be unwilling that the falutary alarm (for fuch they deemed it) arifing from thefe fuppofed dangers in the minds of the people, fhould be wholly quieted. "What they did not themfelves credit, they might wifh to be believed by others. Dangers, which they confidered as diftant, they i .y ■^1 1- 4> f ( H ) they were not cllipleafed tliat tlic public fliould fuppolc iiCwir, m order lo cxckc more vigorour. c::ertloiis. To thefc lyilcms of crooked policy and pious fraud I havcaUvayscntcrtiiln-jd aklndof inftindive and invincible repugnance ; and, if I had nothing elfc to advance in defence of my conduct but this feeling, of which I cannot dived myfelf, I ihould be far from fearing your difpleafure. But arc there, in truth, no evils in a falfe alarm, be fides the difgrace attending thofj who are con- cerned in propagating it ? Is it nothing to deflroy peace, harmony and conlidence, among all ranks of citizens ? Is it notliing to give a general credit and countenance to fufpicions, which every man may point as his word paflions incline him ? In fuch a ftate, all political animofities are inflamed. We confound the miftaken fpeculatift with the defperate incendiary. We extend the prejudices which we have conceived againft indi- *• 4 ■•■--BlitiragrtjeaaJfctfK:.,^-. ., J ^T Icltc ( '5 ) jiidividuals to the political party or even to the religious fed: of which they are mem- bers. Ill this fpirit a Judge declared from the bench, in the laft century, that poifon- ing was a Popiih trick, and I fliould not be furprifed if Biihops w^re now to preach from tiic pulpit that fedition is a Prefbyte- rian or a Unitarian vice. Thofc who differ from us in their ideas of the conftitution, in this paroxyfm of alarm v/e confider as con- federated to dcftroy it. Forbearance and to- leration have no place in our minds; for who can tolerate opinions, which, according to what the Deluders teach, and rage and fear incline the Deluded to believe, attack our Lives, our Properties, and our Religion ? This fituation I thought it my duty, if poffible, to avert, by promoting an inquiry. By this meafure the guilty, if fuch there are, w^ould have been detecfled, and the inno- (::ent liberated from fufpicion. \ M s A ( i6 ) IVly propofal was reje(Sled by a gi-eat ma- jority. I defer with all due refpc^ to their opinion, but retain my own. My next motion was for the infertion of the following words into the Addrefs :— * '* Trufting that your Majefty will employ *' every means of negociation, confident *' with the honour and fafety of this coun- *' try, to avert the calamities of war,'* My motive in this inftance is too obvious to require explanation ; and I think it the lefs neceffary to dwell much on this fubje(St, becaufe, with refpe£l to the defirablenefs of peace at all times, and more particularly in the prefent, I have reafon to believe that your fentiments do not differ from mine. If we looked to the country where the caufe of war was faid principally to originate, the fituatlon of the United Provinces appeared to me to furnifh abundance of prudential 9 argu- J ■I I ( 17 ) arguments in favour of peace. If we looked to Ireland, I faw nothing there that would not difcourage a wife llatefman from putting the connedion between the two kingdom! to any unneceflary hazard. At home;, if it be true that there are feeds of difcontent, War is the hot-bed in which thefe feeds will fooneft vegetate j and of all wars, in this point of view, that war is moft W be dreaded, in the caufe of which Kings may be fuppofed to be more concerned than their fubjeds. I wifhed, therefore, moft earneftly for peace -, and experience had taught me, that the voice even of a Minority in the Houfe of Commons, might not be wholly without effed, in deterring the King's Minifters from irrational projects of war. Even upon this occafion, if I had been more fupported, I am perfuaded our chance of prefeiving the bleflings of peace would be better than it appearst o be at prefent. D I come tv : fi 1 \ i i ( >8 ) I come now to my third motion, ** That an humhlc addrefs he prefentcd ** to his Majefty, that hh Majefty will be •' gracloully pleafed to give diredions, that " a Minifter may be fent to Paris, to treat ** with thofc pcvfons who excrcife provi- " lionally the fuiidions of executive go- *' vcniment in France, touching fiich points ** as may be in difcunion between his Ma- " jefty and his Allies, and the French Na- *' lion ;'* whicli, if I am rightly informed, is tliafc which has been nioft generally dif- approvcd. It was made upon mature con- fidcration, after mucli deliberation with myfclf, and much confultation with others ; and notwithflanding the various mifrepre- fentations of my motives in making it, and the mifconceptions of its tendency, which have prepoflefled many againfl: it, I cannot repent of an ad:, which, if I had omitted, I Ihould think myfelf deficient In the duty which 1 t 7 ■■»-.,tf,iiiii .1&,v., 9 ( «9 ) which I owe to you, and to my country at large. ;r The motives which urged mc to make it were, the Tame dcfirc of peace which actuated me in the former moiion, if it could be prcfcrved on honourable and fafe terms, and if this were impoffiblc, an anxious wifh that the grounds of war might be juft, clear, and intelligible. If we or our ally have fuffered injury or infult, or if the independence of Europe be menaced by inordinate and fuccefs- ful ambition, 1 know no means of pre-» ferving peace but by obtaining reparation for the injury, fatisfad:ion for the infult, or fecurity againft the defign, which we appre- hend ; and I know no means of obtaining D 2 any \ ■ I ,5*. . ■■^-' i^ { 20 ) any of thefe objc£fcs but by addreffing ourfelves to the Power of whom we com- plain. If the exclufr igation of the Scheld, I* \ii navij or any other right belonging to the States General, has been invaded, the French Executive Council are the invaders, and of them we muft afk redrefs. If the rights of neutral nations have been attacked by the decree of the 19th of November, the Na- tional Convention of France have attacked them, and from that Convention, through the organ by which they fpeak to foreign courts and nations, their Minifter for fo- reign affairs, we muft demand explanation, difavowal, or fuch other fatisfadtion as the cafe may require. If the manner in whiqh the fame Convention have re- ceived and anfwered fome of our country- 4 men, /MA >i^ 11 ^ «<.j«>*.« ittUny nT I 'iMkHnwMMMtfMi M ( 2' ) men, who have addreffed them, be thought worthy notice, precifely of the fame per- fons, and in the fame manner, muft we demand fatisfadion upon that head alfo. If the fecurity of Europe, by any conquefts made or apprehended, be endangered to fuch a degree, as to warrant us, on the principles as well of juftice as of policy, to enforce by arms a reftitution of conquefts already made, or a renunciation of luch as may have been projeded, from the Exe- cutive Power of France, in this inftancc again, muft we afk fuch reftitution, or fuch renunciation. How all, or any of thefe objeds could be attained, but by negocia- tion, carried on by authorifed Minifters, I could not conceive. I knew indeed that there were fome perfons, whofe notions of dignity were far different from mine, and who, in that point of view, would have preferred a clandeftine, to an avowed nego. m I 1 ><#j »•} ( " ) negociation ; but I confefs I thought thi» mode of proceeding neither honourable nor fafe ; and, with regard to fome of our complaints, wholly impradicable.— Not honourable, becaufe, to feek private and circuitous channels of communication, feems to fuit the condud, rather of fuch as fuc for a favour, than of a great nation, which ^mands fatisfadion. Not lafe, becaufe nei- ther a declaration from an unauthorifed agent, nor a mere gratuitous repeal of the decrees complained of, (and what more could fuch a negociation aim at ?) would afford us any fccurity againft the revival of the claims which we oppofe ; and laftly, impradicable with refpedt to that part of the (jueftion, which regards the fecurity of Europe, becaufe fuch fecurity could not be provided for by the repeal of a decree, or any thing that might be the rcfult of a pri- vate negociation, but could only be ob- tained feV -'A^;»_-- -_-*.,. — . ».,^-» *' . ._^— ^ ■ ■mi mi ( 23 ) tained by a formal treaty, to which the exifting French government muft of neccf- fity be a party ; and I know of no means by which it can become a party to fuch a treaty, or to any treaty at all, but by a Mi- nifter publicly authorifed, and publicly re- ceived. Upon thefe grounds, and with thefe views, as a fmcere friend to peace, I thought it my duty to fuggeft, what ap- peared to me, on every fuppofition, the moft eligible, and, if certain points were to be infifted upon, the only means of pre- ferving that invaluable bleffing. But I had ftill a further motive ; and if peace could not be preferved, I confideted the meafure which I recommended as highly ufeful in another point of view. To declare war, is, by the Conftitution, the prerogative of the Ktng ; but to grant or '1'^ i n J ^■■■-J H' ! f I :irf» ( H ) or with-hold the means of carrying it oh, is (by the fame Conftitution) the privilege of the People, through their Reprefenta- tives ; and upon the People at large, by a law paramount to all Conftitutions — the Law of Nature and Neceffity, mull fall the burdens and fufferings, which are the too fure attendants upon that calamity. It feems therefore reafonable that they, who are to pay, and to fuffer, (hould be diftindly informed of the objed for which war is made, and I conceived nothing would tend to this information fo much as an avowed negociation ; becaufe from the refult of fuch a negociation, and by no other means, could we, with any degree of certainty, learn, how far the French were willing to fatisfy us in all, or any of the points, which have been publicly held forth as the grounds of complaint againft them. — If in none of thefe ^ i'i: ( 25 ) thefe any fatisfadory explanation were given, we (hould all admit, provided our original grounds of complaint were juft, that the war would be fo too : — if in fome — we Ihould know the fpecific fubje6ts upon which fatisfadion w^as refnfed, and have an opportunity of judging whether or not they were a rational ground of difpute : — if in all — and a rupture were neverthelefs to take place, we fliould know that the public pretences were not the real caufes of the war. /• In the laft cafe which I have put, I fhould hope there is too much fpirit in the people of Great Britain, to fubmit to take a part in a proceeding founded on deceit ; and in either of the others, whether our caufe were weak or ftrong, we fliould at all events efcape that laft of infamies, the fuf- picion of being a party to the Duke of E Brunfwick's i*""*""-^ ■« - ^g^g ^^^^(•^ "ni ii UM ( a6 ) Brunfwick% Manifeftoes *. But tKb is not all. Having afcertained the precife caufe pf war, we fhould learn the true road to peace ; and if the caufe fo afcertained ap- peared adequate, then we (liould look for peace through war, by vigorous exertions a^d liberal fupplies: if inadequate, the Con- I * X have heard that the Manifeftoes are not to be con- fidered as the acVs of the Illuftrious Prince whofe name I have mentioned, and that the threats contained in tliem were never meant to be carried into execution. T hear with great fatisfaiflion whatever tends to palliate the Manifeftoes themfelves ; and with ftill more any thing that tends to dIfconne£l them from the name which is affixed to t}iem» bccaufe the great abilities of tjie perfon in queftion, his extraordinary gallantry, and above all his miUl and paternal government of his fub- jecls, have long llnce imprclled me with the higlieft refped: for his characlcv; and upon this account it gave me much concern when 1 heard that he was engaged hi an enterprize, where, according to my ideas, true jflqry could not be acq^uired. (litutioa s ( 27 ) ilitution would furnilh us abundance of means, as well through our reprefentativcs, as by our undoubted right to petition King and Parliament, of impreiling his Majefty's Minillers with fentiments limilar to our own, and of engaging them to compromife, or, if neceflary, to relinquifli an objed, in which we diil not feel intcrcft iufficient to compenfate to us for the calamities and ha- zard of a war. I To thefe reafonings it appeared to me, that they only could objetl with con- fiftency, who would go to war with France on account of her internal concerns ; and who would confider the re-eftablifhment of the old, or at lead fome other form of go- vernment, as the fair objed of the conteft. Such perfons might reafonably enough ar- gue, that with thofe whom they are deter- mined to deftroy, it is ufelefs to treat. E 2 T« ^..«if£iiigra^:-?^^£?'**^^«»^^ni' -*^wswr««»i»-TAi-»v > * ( 28 ) To arguments of this nature, however, I paid little attention ; becaufe the eccen- tric opinion upon which they are found- ed was exprefsly difavowed, both in the King's Speech and in the Addrefles of the two Houfes of Parliament : and it was an additional motive with me for making my motion, that, if fairly debated, it might be the occafion of bringing into free difcuf- fion that opinion, and of feparating more diftind:ly thofe who maintained and aded upon it from others, who from different motives (whatever they might be) were difmclined to my propofal. k I > ii I s But if the objedlions of the violent party appeared to me extravagant, thofe of the niore moderate feemed whollyunintelligible. Would they make and continue war, till they can force France to a counter-revolution? No; this they difclaim. What then is to be the ter- mination |-*v*-.^>.. . «J { 29 ) minatlon of the war to which they would excite us ? I anlwer confidently, that it can be no other than a negociation, upon the lame principles and with the fame men as that which I recommend. I fay the fame principles, becaufe after war peace cannot be obtained but by treaty, and treaty necefllirily implies the independency of thecontrading parties. I fay the fame men, becaufe though they may be changed before the happy hour of reconciliation arrives, yet that change, upon the principles above rtated, would be merely accidental, and in no wife a neceflary preliminary to peace : for I cannot fuppofe that they who difclaim making war yor a change, would yet think it right to continue it //■// a change; or, in other words, that the blood and treafure of this country fhould be expended in a hope that— not our efforts — but time and chance may produce a new government in France, with which it would be i. :.-«!^^^r-^^i^:yf^^*m0smq;*<-^^^^ ff IB " '" ( 30 ) be more agreeable to our Minifters to ncgo- ciate than with the prcfent. Atid it is fur- ther to be obferved, that the neceffity of fuch a negociation will not in any degree depend upon the fuccefs of our arms, fince the reciprocal recognition of the indepen- dency of contradling paities is equally ne- cefl'ary to thofe who cxa(St and to thofe who offer facrilices for the purpofe of peace. I forbear to put the cafe of ill fuccefs, be- caufe to contemplate the fituation to which we, and efpecially our ally, might in fuch an event be placed, is a tafk too painful to be undertaken but in a cafe o^^ tlie Inft neceffity. Let us fuppofe therefore the fkill and gal- lantry of our failors and foldicrs to be crowned with a feries of uninterrupted vic- tories, "and thofe vid:ories to lead us to the legitimate objeft of a juft war, a fafe and honourable peace. The terms of fuch a peace (I am fuppofing that Great Britain 18 ( 3^ ) IS to didate them) may confift in (atil'- fadion, reftitution, or even by way of in- demnity to us or to others, in ceffion of territory on the part of France. Now that fuch fatjsfaaion may be honourable, it muft be made by an avowed Minifter; that fuch reftitution orceflion maybe lafe or honour- able, they muft be made by an independent power, competent to make them. And thus our very fucceftes and vidorics will necef- larily lead us to that meafure of negociation and recognition, which, from the diftorted Hiape in which paftion and prejudice repre- fent objeas to the mind of man, has by fome been confidered as an ad: of humiliation and abafement. I have reafon to believe there are fome who think my motion unexceptionable enough in itfelf, but ill-timed. The time was not in my choice. I had no opportu- -* nitv '• '^"- ^'^^ ' y^""^ '■■*f:-'<^^tr:'^fef^f*fi^ '.: \ I ■ '■ 4 ( .3^ ) nity of making it fooner ; and, with a view to its operation refpe(fting peace, I could not delay it. To me, wlio think that public intercouric with France, except during ac- tual war, ought always to fubfift, the firft occafion that prefented itfelf, after the inter- ruption of that intercourfe, Teemed of courfe the proper moment for nreiling its renewal. But let us examine the oljjed.ions upon this head of Time in detail. They appeared to mc to be principally Four ift. That by fending a Miiiillcr to Paris at that period, we iliould give feme counte- nance to a proceeding*, moft unanimoufly, and * Since this was written, wc Iiavi." learned the fad cataftrophe of the proceeding to wliich I alluded. Thofe, however, who feel the force of my argument, will perceive that it is not at all impaired by this re- volting adl of cruelty and injuftice. huleed, if I were inclined to fee any connection between the two fubjedls, I iliould rather feel additional regret for the rejeftion of i 1 I .«* ( 33 ) and moft juftly reprobated, in every country of E uropc. (^ 11 1 ) To this obje£lIon I need not, I think, give any otlier anfwer, than that It refls upon an opinion, that by fending a Minliler we pay fome compliment, implying approba- tion, to the prince or ftate to whom we fend him J an opinion which, for the honour of this country, I muft hope to be wholly erro- neous. We had aMinifter at Verflillles, when Corfica was bought and enllaved. We had MInlfters at the German courts, at the time of the infamous partition of Poland. We have generally a refulent Conful, who ads as a Minifter to the piratical republic of Algiers ; and we have more than once fent of a motion which might have afforded one chance more of preventing an aft concerning which (out of France) I will venture to affirm that there is not tliroughout Europe one difTentient voice. F embaflies r if- t ( 34 ) cmbaflies to Emperors of Morocco, reeking from the blood through which, by the murder of their ncareft relations, they had waded to their thrones. In none of thefe inftances was any fandlion given by Great Britain to the tranfadions by which power had been acquired, or to the manner in which it had been exerciled. V, sdly. That a recognition might more properly take place at the end, and as the refult of a private communication, and (In the phrafe ufed upon a former occafion) as the price of peace, than gratuitoufly at the outfet of a negoeiation. I cannot help fufpeding, that they who urge this obje y the ;v had ' thefe Great power ncr in t more as the and (in fion) as r at the ,ey who ded the nerly fo sndence. oily dii- fimiiar ^v ( 35 ; fimilar— 1 pray to God that, in all other refpeds, they may prove equally fo. To recognize the Thirteen States, was in cffea to withdraw a claim of our own, and it might fairly enough he argued that we were entitled to feme price or compenfation for fuch a facrifice. Even upon that occafion, I was of opinion that a gratuitous and pre- liminary acknowledgment of their inde- pendence was moft confonant to the prin- ciples of magnanimity and policy ; but in this inftance we have no facrifice to make, for we have no claim ; and the reafons for whic!i the French muft wiih an avowed and official intercourfe, can be only fuch as apply equally to the mutual interea of both nations, by affording more effedual means of preventing mifunderftandings, and fe- curing peace. I would further recommend to thofe who F 2 prefs \ S».**.-r'», i ^M i »i '! t ( 36 ) prefs this objedion, to confider whether, if recognition be really a facrifice on our part, the Miniftry have not already made that facrifice by continuing to a£t upon the commercial treaty as a treaty ftill in force. Every contrad: muft be at an end when the contracting parties have no longer any exill- ence either in their own perfons or by their reprcfentatives. After the tenth of Augufl: the political exiftence of Louis XVI. who wasthe contrading partyin thetrcaty of com- merce, was completely annihilated. The only queftion therefore is. Whether the Execu- tive Council of France did or did not repre- fent the political power fo annihilated. If we fay they did not, the contrading party has no longer any political exiftence either in his perfonor byreprefentation, and the treaty becomes null and void. If we fay they did, then we have adually acknowledged them as reprcfentatives, (for the time at leaft) of what V ^I> ( 37 ) what was the Executive Government in France. In this character alone do they claim to be acknowledged, fmce their very ftyle (lefcribes them as a Provifional Exe- cutive Council and nothing elle. If we would preferve our treaty we could not do lefs ; by fending a Minifler we fhould not do more *. I 3dly. That our AmbafTador having been recalled, and no Britifh Minifter having refided at Paris, while the condudl of the * If my argument Is fatisfa^lory, I have proved that we have recognifed the Executive Council ; and it is notorious, that through the medium of Mr. Chauvelin we have ncgociated vi'ith them. But although we have both negociated and recognized, it would be difhonourable, it feems, to negociate in fuch a manner as to imply recognition. How nice are the points upon which great bufmcfles turn ! how remote from vulgar apprehenfion ! French ?l, ft ll ^ : ( J8 ) Trench was inofFenfive with refpedl to us and our ally, it would be mortifying to fend one thither, juft at the time when they began to give us caufe of com- plaint. Mortifying to whom? Not certainly to the Houfe of Commons, who were not a party to the recall of Lord Gowcr, and who, if my advice were followed, would lofe no time in replacing him. To the Minifters pofii- bly *; and if fo, it ought to be a warning to the Houfe, that it lliould not, by ading like the Minifters, lofe the proper, that is, the firft opportunity, and thereby throw ex- fit '; / I / * I do not think it would have been mortifvinc; even to them, becaufe in coiifequenccof the difcuiTions vvhici^ had arifen, a meafure which had been before indifferent might become expedient ; but as this point made no part of my confideration, I have not thought it incumbent upon me to argue it. trinfic \"l nf ■«£■.■;■. us g to when CO in- to tlic party if my ) time poffi- ing to ig like s, tlic jv ex- incr even ns which idifFerent e no part icumbent trinfic II ( 39 ) trlnfic difficulties of its own creation in the way of a meafure, in itfelf wife and falutary. 4thly. That by ading in the manner propofcd we might give ground of offence to thofe powers, with whom, in cafe of war, it might be prudent to form connedion iind alliance^ This objedion requires examination. If it meant that our treating with France in it* prefcnt flate will offend the German Powers, by fhewing them that our ground of quarrel is different from theirs ? If this be ib, and if we adhere to the principles which we have publicly ftated, I am afraid we mufl either offend or deceive, and in fuch an alternative I truft the option is not difficult. If it be faid, that, though our original grounds of quarrel were different, yet wc may -5 ■S'Jk,. -_, ■*^-Mimn^'^*^''^>'^9*^: m w 'fl. I« li .' \ \ ■ '■■: i '1^1 '>:l! 1 4 ' i Irl }V: ( 40 ) may, In return for the aid they may afford us in obtaining our objeds, affift them in theirs of a counter-revolution, and enter into an offenfive alliance for that purpofe — I anfwer, that our having previoufly treated would be no impediment to fuch a mea- fure. But if it were, 1 freely confels that this confideiation would have no influence with me ; becaufe fuch an alliance, for fuch a purpofe, I conceive to be the greateft cala- mity that can befall the Britifh nation : for let us not attempt to deceive ourfelves j what- ever poffibility or even probability there may be of a counter-revolution, from in- ternal agitation and difcord, the means of producing fuch an event by external force, can be no other than the conqueft of France. The conqueft of France ! ! ! — O ! calum- niated crufaders, how rational and mode- rate were your objects ! — O! much injured Louis XIV. upon what flight grounds have 5 you *»rf ' ( 41 ) you been accufed of reftlefs and immode- rate ambition ! — O ! tame and feeble Cer- vantes, with what a timid pencil and faint colours have you painted the portrait of a difordered imagination ! I have now dated to you fully, and I truft fairly, the arguments that perfuaded me to the courfe of condud which I have purfued. In thefe confifts my defence, upon which you are to pronounce ; and I hope I fhall not be thought prefumptuous, when I fay, that I exped with confidence a favourable verdid. t If the reafonings which I have adduced fail of convincing you, I confefs indeed that I {hall be difappointed, becaufe to my un- derftanding they appear to have more of irrefragable demonftration than can often be hoped for in political difcuffions ; but even G in Mi^;, 'h (•v>. ( 4» ) in this cafe, if you fee in them probability fufficient to induce you to believe that, though not ftrong enough to convince ^ditors, but encourages rhcm to profceute a continuation of the iame during the j)rcfent Parliament. For this pi.Tpofe, and to prevent milreprcfcntation, they beg !f.-:;ve again to folicit the af- iiftancc of all their former friends, and every other gen- tleman. 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