/rrfLst-0*^^ _^ >7^ ?''T3t.^^_ IMR. FOX'S SPEECH. J' 5¥67 •> ^ / ,i?0/ f 4 < THE SPEECH OF THE HO4NORABLE CHARLES JAMES FOX, ON THE MOTION FOR AN EN2UIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE NATION, On the 2bth of March, 1801. TO WHICH IS ADDKD AN APPENDIX, ILLUSTRATING SOME PASSAGES OF THE SPEECH, AND COVTRIBUTINC TO THE MEANS OF FORMING A FULL JUDGMENT Ul'ON THE Most Momentous QIJESTIONS that agitate the Public IN THL PRESENT CRISIS. LONDON: PRLXTED BY S. Hyl MILTON, KiUon-Courl, KIccI-Strcci ; AND SOLD BY J. DEBRETT, PICCADILLY, AND 3V MESSRS. ROBINSONS, PATERNOSTER-ROW, Price 2*. 6d. >/9. 's- •• r"""^ MR. FOX'S SPEECH OH THK STATE OF THE NATION. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Die Mcrcnrii, 45° Martii, 1301V *< rr^ JL HAT this houfe refolve itfelf into a com- " mittee, to confider of the ftate of the nation," was moved by Mr. Grey, after a fpeech of very- great eloquence. To Mr. Grey, Mr. Dundas replied at length ; and concluded with giving a negative to the motion. Lord Temple fupported the motion ; avowing, however, his approbation of Mr. Pitt's mi- niftry. Two or three other members, panegyrifts of the former, as well as the prefcnt, adminirtration., fpokc both for and againll the qucflion. R About half pafl nine ]\Tr. Pitt rofc, and, in an eloquent fpeecb, rellflcd Mr. Gre\'s motion till twelve o'clock, WHEN MR. FOX addrefifed the houfe, in fubrtancc nearly as follows: * * ♦ * # " LATE as the hour is, (it was pafi: midnight) I (hall beg leave, even under the dcfignation of * a nezv member,^ by which the honorable gen- tleman (Mr. Pitt) has complimented me, to avail myfelf of the indulgence which the houfe ufually fliews to perfons of that defcription ; and, unwilling as I am to trefpafs long upon your attention, it will be difficult to difmifs very Hiortly the whole of the arguments that apply to the quefrion before the houfe ; efpecially after the confufed ftate in which the honorable gentle- man's fpeech has left the real matters at iffue, and that laborious complication which renders it not an eafy talk to methodize a reply, or put one's argument into a plain and diftinft order. " Firft, I (hall take the liberty of adverting to, thiit part of the honorable gentleman's fpeech (certainly not the moft folid or iplendid piirt of it) which relates perionally to myfelf; and of which the introduction, upon the prefent occafion, is a decifive proof how bereft of real defence the honorable gentlemen muft feel himfclf, u'heii 3 he is driven to the expedient of reviving a c;r- CLimllance which has bat lictle analogy to the point before you ; and whichj when explained and underftood, will lend not the leaft fanftlon or fupport to the fyllem of his majcfty's late niinirters, rcfpe6ting the queftion between this country and the Northern powers. *• I certainly did, in my capacity of fecretary of ftate, offer, by his majeliy's commands, to the Emprefs orR".fha In the year 1782, the recogni- tion of the principle in queftion, for the purpofe of inducing that princefs to enter into a clofe alli- ance with this country. Inrejedtingtheinfinuatlon^ of this propofal being my fole a6f, let me not be underftood to fhrink from that meafure as ' rath and inconfiderate :' on the contrary, 1 avow and affirm that it was moft wife, timely, and judici- ous ; but for the fake of truth let it be remem- bered that the meafure which It fell officially to my lot to [)ropofe to the court of Ruflia, at the time alluded to, was of courfe the meafure of the king's whole council, and not mine; which council confifted of many of the greatelt name«» in the country, fuch as the Marquis of Rock- ingham, Lord John Cavendish, the Duke of Richmond, the Marquis of Lansdown, Lord Keppell, &c.&;c. — it was, in a word, the a6fc of an admlniflratlon which has been the leaft ccnfurcd,and the moft praifcdjOt any that exifted during the king'b reign. " llie honorable gentleman challenges any pcrfon to difcuf^> the queftion with the neutral powers, as ' a ftatefman or a lawyer :' — now, though I tan venture to toucli the matter ouly B 2 in the firft of thcfe characters, 1 can adarc the hoiife that the concclTion, whatever it was, of the miniftry, wliich I offered as our joint a6t tO' the Emprefs of Rufiia in the year 1782, and fo often alludtd to by the honorable gentleman, had the concurrence of as great lawyers as ever diilinguiihed this country at any one period ; for whatever may have been the other defe6ls of that fliort adminiftration, in it there certainly was no want of eminent lawyers. No lefs than three of the luminaries of that profeflion, namely^ Lord AsHBURTON, Lord Camden, and Lord Thurlow, were members of that cabinet j and far enough from thinking that the offer then made to the Ruffian court ' laid at the feet of that government all the fources of the naval greatnefs of this country,' to repeat the rant of the honorable gentleman, thefe learned and noble perfons, together with the whole body of that adminiftration, were profoundly con- vinced, not that what we offered was flight and trifling, but that, important as it was> it would have been highly to the advantage of this country, that ourpropofal had been adopted by the government of Ruffia.' *' In making this offer, I was fo far from being myfterious, — fo little apprehcnfion did we feel that our propofition to Ruflia would involve our country in any of the perils from other powers which the fatuity of the honorable gen- tleman's (Mr. Pitt's) mini f^ry has brought upon it, that, inftead of fending through the more ufual channel of our ambaifador at that court, who, if I miflakc not, was Lord M a l mis bury, J^ applied here diredly to Mr. Simolin, the Ruiiian miniftcr at this court, and with him en- •^eavoured to accomplini the negotiation. To liim I offered a qidd pro quo — and meant to give nothing without getting a full equivalent. I wiflied to feparate Ru[Jia entirely from any con- ne£lions injurious to Great Britain^ and to attach that power folidly and permanently to this coun- try. The honorable gentleman has dwelt with fome fatisfaftion upon the expreffions of mv letter to Mr.SiMOLiN. He has the advantage over me, of having lately read that letter in the office — (by the way, if that letter be a docu- ment for arguing the prefent difpute in this houfe, this houfe fliould have a copy of that letter) — and feems ftrangely enough to think: that he derives fome pretext for his own policy, in my defcription of the magnitude of our pro- ■pofed concellions in 17H2. Why, what would the •honorable gentleman, or any other man, think of me, if I wrote otherwife than he ftates me to have written upon that occafion } *' If he were negotiating with France about the furrcnder of that Belgium, the retention of which he had fo lately made n^/ie qua ;/^;/, would he begin by undervaluing and underrating the extent, fertility, and population of thofe provinces. — I, of courfe, did not begin by depreciating to the go- vernment of Rullia the very boon I was tender- ing as an inducement to a great and beneficial alliance. " The honorable gentleman rejoices in the fail- ure of that negotiation ; — in as much as its fuc- cefs would have enabled Rulha to protect the commerce of France, and been the means of B ^ 6 preventing this country from annihilating it, in the prefent war. What ! Rufiia aflift the com- merce of France ? Riiffia ! the loudcft in thun- dering its maledictions againrt the French revo- lution — the firft to profefs its zeal in the crufade? — the very power who formally waved this neu- tral principle, declaring that all genera! prin- ciples (liould yield to the fuperior obje6l or over- throwing ' regicide republicanifm,* and every thing elfe with which the royal coalition had ftigmatlfed the French in this war? As to the deftrutiion of the French trade, is it certain that all the efforts of all the combined powers, or any podible effeft arifmg from the moft fuccefsful affertion ot what the government of England is r.ow^ contending for, have hurt the commerce of France fo much as its own diforganizations of all kinds upon that fubjetSt fmce the period of the re- . volution ? I believe not. Befides, do you fet down for nothing the captures made by your own fleets? *' In a word, the honorable gentleman will find nothing in the meafure, to which he has alluded with fo ludicrous a triumph, to countenance the fyftem he has purfued towards the Northern powers — to the confideration of which I fliall now proceed, having faid this much in relation to what the honorable gentleman has directed fp perfonally at myjelf. *' The QiJESTION WITH THE NoRTHERPf •POWERS has been divided by the honorable gentleman into five parts. Thefe five I ihall •render into three; namely, Free bottoms mak- ' ug jree goods --^T he contraband of war — The right 7 of fear ch under convoy. Thefe three beads (com- prehending the collateral and dependent qaef- tions of blockade, and the carrying of the coajling and coloniil trade of belligerent!^^ by abufe of the firft and third propofition) form the eflfence of the prefent difpute with the Northern powers, and which, in common acceptation, is called ''the neutral principle.^ *' Vv^hetherthis neutral principle be Jacobinical or not, its origin is certainly of more antiquity than the French revolution, being as old as the middle of the laft century, and having for ics patron and propounder no iefs a republican than Frederick the Great. That prince was un- doubtedly a philofopher, and by fome deemed not quite orthodox in his theology. This neu- tral principle might therefore with as much rea- fon be called deijlical ^s Jacobinical; and if the honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had now been in as high favour with the church as in pad times, polhbly he might get this point, for which the powers of the North are contending, branded with fome fuch epithet by ecclefiallical authority; in the fame manner as, towards the €nd of the feventeenlh century, the univerfity of Oxford declared that the principles which led to the affcrtion and confervation of the Britilli conftitution, and which feated the prefent royal family upon tl>c thmnc of Fngland, were ' doc- trines tending to atheifm.' The one imputation is as ]y\[\ as the other; and jacohinifm ap|)lies with exadly as much truth to the neutral cjuef- tion, as atheifm to the i)rinciple.s of the Englilh revolution. In reality, fir, llie honorable ^ea- i* 4 8 tleman'sindifcriminate cry of Jacobin ! jacobin I to every thing and perfon that he dislikes, has brought an utter contempt upon this continual cant. He has worn it outj — and all the terrors he would conjure up from it are become an abfolute bugbear. With far more grace and likelihood might this term 'jacobin' be retorted upon himfelf, and feveral indeed of his own meafures, — of which one of the mod recent might, perhaps, in the judgment of many (though I am not difpofed fo to defcribe it), be confidered as ftridly fuch : I mean the honorable gentle- man's late communication to the catholics of Ireland, upon the event of his refignation. " The next affertor of this neutral queftion was that implacable zealot in Jacobinical faith, that virulent propagator of revolutionary doc- trines, the late Emprefs of Russia j who, in the year 1780 and 1781, entered, with all the other Northern powers, into a confederacy, dif- fering, I apprehend, in nothing from that which the honorable gentleman has fligmatifed fo co- pioufly this night ; except, as I underftand, by fome additional precautions in the recent league. " Now, would any body believe that this ho- norable gentleman, in his capacity of cabinet minifter, iliould, in lefs than two years after that confederacy was formed, avail himfelf of the me- diation of thofe very powers between this country and its enemies ; and that preliminaries of peace (negotiated bv an adminiilration of which he himfelf was a part) ihould be a6lually figned under tbe aufpices of that very Emprefs of Russia, the grand authorefs of wliat he now calls ' Jacobinical, revolutionary principles, vio- lative of treaties, fubverfive of the law of pations, ftarting a code of new and mon- ftrous maxims,' and all the other ftrong abufc which, in the prodigality of his invedives, be has cad upon this new alliance, — a mcre/<7«r- Jtmi/e of the old : — and after all what does this prove r but that the honorable gentleman's ob- loquies now are of juft as much value as his encomiums lail: year upon the ' magnanimity' of fome of thefe very powers, — both the one and the other being mere noife, and fignifying nothing. "However, fir, regarding the firft formation of this confederacy in the year 1780 and 1781, the honorable gentleman fays that this court, chough too weak to reiift it by force, never admitted the principle of that confederacy; and that lord Stormont proteftcd againft it. " Here let me remark, that the oppofition of that day, like this of the prefent, had their cam reproaches vented by the fupporters of the one adminiftration as well as the oiher. How could we be always right, they faid, who always op- pofed the right and the wrong r — or if we con- curred, then it was ' aht of candor.' The truth, fir, is, that neither did we then, nor do we now, com- ]>lain, but from a full conviction that vvc had jufl caufe. Lven the honorabK* gentleman has had our votes when we confcienliouilv felt that we could agree with him ; and, notwithfianding nil the heat of party at the period of the American 10 war alluded to, not a breath of blame did wft throw upon the miniflers of thofe days for their difcreet and meafured condu£l refpe6ting the confederacy at that period formed by the neutral powers. In that 'fit of candor/ iffuch it was, Uie honorable gentleman himfelf was with us; but he is now quite fure that what he then tliought good fenfe and good management was owing to weaknefs. — In nothing were the ho- norable gentleman and I (who then afled to- gether) more of one mind, than in general cenfure of that adminiftration ; againft their con- du6^, in this cafe, however, we murmured not one word : for, without conceding any necef- fary point, we thought their difcretion, in that inftance, faved this country from a war with the Northern powers ; and our naval hiftory from that period vouches that their caution did not facrifice the fourccs of our maritime grcatnefs, which, ac- cording to the honorable gentleman, muft be the inevitable confequence. That government did not revolt the feelings of Europe by fending its fleets to a feeble power, to carry by force what it might obtain by argument ; nor did it fol- low the example of capricious defpotifm in lay- ing embargoes upon Danifli and SwediQi pro- perty in Britilli ports, 'i hefe improvements in diplomacy, thefe encouragements to commerce, have been referved for the honorable gentleman. " Now, with regard to the firfl of the three branches into which 1 have divided the heads of my argument, if any perfon is anxious for my opinion, 1 have no hefilation in faying, that, as a general propofuion, * free bottoms do ;/o/ iiiake free goods/ and that, as an axiom, it is 11 fupported neither by the law of nntions nor of common fenfe. The law of nations is but a body of regulations, founded upon equal juflice, and'applying equally to all nations for the com- mon intereft of all. If v ftate of war did n6t in- volve its own inconveniences, the temptations to war would be endlefs, and might keep nations in perpetual mifery. It is therefore for the ge- neral advantage that belligerents (liould feel the injuries of abridged and rertrided trade, becaufe it is an inducement to peace ; — and if, on the ether hsnd, the commerce of a power at war, as well as the materials of offence, could be legally- carried on bv a neutral, the benefic of maritime preponderance would be wholly loft— a thing as much at variance with common fenfe, as it would be repugnant to reafon, that mere naval Superiority fhould defpife every rule of relative juftice, and, by bare-faced power, make its own will the lav/ of the ocean. ** The onlv difficulty would be, which to con- demn as moft monftrous, — a neutral, pretending to the right of fupplying i^ne belligerent with all the means of mifchief to another; or a bellige- rent, infiRing upon an univerfa! right of fearch in all cafes, and making innocent commerce the fport of its whim, in exprefs contempt of fpe- cific rrgulation. It is between thefe extremes that the general intereft of the commonwealth of nations finds the true equitable medium j as the iKiniberlefs treaties between the different Aates of Europe fufficiently demonftrate. ** From thcfc treaties ihc mo/I ^e/ier^/ in^i^rcvxc iti, for tl.r veneral frcedcm oi coninicrce; but 12 every one of them contains exceptions to, and qualifications of, tliis principle j which, though genera], is not univcrfal. (C So much with regard to * free bottoms mak.-» ing free goods :' which, however, is not the queftion at iffue between this court and the neu- tral powers ; becaufe, if it were, it would ex- clude all confideration of the two other heads of this difculfion ; namely, * the contraband of war,' (a point not difputed, as I underftand, by the Northern powers) and * the right of fearch,' which, under certain limitations, is exprefsly recognized. " The contraband of war* is the mere crea- ture of convention ; the very articles which are declared ' contraband' with one power being * innocent commerce' with another. This point, thus varying and contradictory, the honorable gentleman would reduce into fomething wonder- fully fimple. Inftead of refting it upon the fpe- cific text of a treaty, he would make it depend folely upon the will of the ftrongeft. He knows far better than they who negotiated them, what the treaties meant. Thus, if naval materials were defined as lawful commerce, in fome treaties, the honorable gentleman fays they were not prohibited as contraband, only becaufe the contracting nation at that time did not trade in fuch articles. So, too, if in the treaty with Hol- land of 1674*, * hemp, flax, and pitch j ropes, fails, and anchors j mafts, planks, boards, beams, of what fort of woodfoever,and all other materials • See Appendix, N° I. 13 for building or repairing fliips,' are, in the very words of the treaty, declared to be ^ wholly free goods, ivaref^y and commodities,* as exprefsly con- tradillinguiflied from contraband, — the hono- rable gentleman gives you two unanfwerable reafons why you fhould hold thefe treaties as nothing in this difculhon : — Firft, fays he, be- caufe it was not then forefecn that fuck things could be implements of war. Secondly, or if it had been forefeen, the exclufion of fuch articles from * contraband,' in favour of the Dutch, docs not affect the general principle, in as much as * the Dutch were likely to be always allies of this countrv, or at leaft friendlv.' And the firft of thefe powerful arguments he ftrengthens by a very fine hypothefis : — ' Suppofe,' adds the ho- norable gentleman, ' gunpowder had been in- vented fubfequent to any treaty in which it was not declared to be contraband, what fort of a miniiler would he be who would admit a neutral power to aflifl his enemy with gunpowder, merely becaufe it happened not to have been difcovered when the contraband of war had been fettled with fuch neutral ?' Excellent illuftratlon! Why, fir, in fuch a cafe we fliould have all faid the fame thing; — but how con- temptible is it to imply the prefent to be fuck a cafe ! What an honour to the clofe of the eighteenth century to have found out, not exactly the invention of gunpowder, but that ' hernp, pitch, ropes, fails, anchors, and mafts/ arc become implements of war, which they were not in 1654 and 1674 ! \\'hat a mira- culous talent of expounding trentics muft not that honorable gentleman be gifted with, who would make thofe articles contraband to ihc reft 14. of the world wliich were declared free to tlie Dutchy becaufe it was confidered certain^ in 1674, that the Dutch muft be always allies or friends of England ! — even the Dutch, who, within only twenty years before this treaty, waged three of the bloodicft wars with this country that it ever before fuftained with anv naval enemv ! Are the names of De Ruyier and Fan Tromp fo torgotten, in 1674, that is to fay two years after the ceffation of war vvith Holland, that the hoftility of their country to this may not be as likely as its fricnd- iliip? And might not the glories of thcfe cele- brated men afford fome diftant guefs, that ' hemp, pitch, ropes, fails, anchors, and mafts,' were, in their life-time, implements of war ? — Why, fir, can there be a clearer proof what the honorable gentleman thinks of this houfe, than his offering fuch an argument as this, in palliation of this new war, which his wantonnefs and want of the commoneft difcretion has brought upon the country? " From the words which I have quoted, you fee that thefe conceffions were made to Holland m the treaty of 1674. Nobody can be ignorant how that country availed itfelf of all its privileges, either of natural right or of treaty, during the Seven Years' war, as well as daring that which was terminated at Aix-la-Chapelle. Throughout thefe wars, Holland carried every neutral right to its utmoft extent of exertion. Did all this exertion difable this country from crippling the marine of France during thefe contells? Did it ? I afk the houfe : — and if this conceffion, to fo indullrious, aclive, and indefatigable a race as the Dutch, the general carriers of Europe, pro- 15 duced neither facilities toFrance, nor injury to us, let me alk you, if there be a prudent man on earth who would have provoked extremities with RulVia, a power that has fcarcely any car- rying trade whatever, about a point which, ia the hands of the Dutch, was abfolutely nugatory as to all thofe dangers which the propenfity to this war has difcovered and magnified ? *' But the honorable gentleman flatters himfelf that he has found out fomething aufpicious to his caufe, in reco]le(5ling that I condemned, at the time of the French commercial treaty in 1787, your granting this very point to France^r What a caufe of triumph for the honorable gen-' tleman ! — That I cenfured,as moft undoubtedly I did, the cellion of a principle to a country which the experience of ages proved to be a kind of natural enemy in all your wars, — which you denied to one that fcarcely ever was againft you, and which every maxim of honeflEnglilh policy fliould pronjptyou to cultivate asa fort oi natural fiie7id, — I dreaded not fo much the dire6t as the indirect ufe that France misht make of fuch a dilfindion- in her favor; and I objected to and reprobated your yielding that to Lewis the XVI. which you peremptorily refufed to Catharine thq Second, If I underftand what it is to be right and confiftenr, I was fo in my difcrimination upon this point, in that difculhon ; and 1 am ignorant of the meaning of the words, if the honorable gentleman's animadverfion this night be not as weak, trifling, and fallacious, as were his original arguments at the time he iTjade this furrender. 16 *' So much then as to the two firjl branches of this queftion with the neutral powers. " With refpefl to the third point, the matter of '■ JearcK — that., under found and difcreet limi- tations is certainly a right of belligerents; but, puflied to extremity, it becomes, like many other rights, a grofs wrong. The right of fearch, as on the one hand it does not reft merely on un- written law, fo neither on the other is it a matter to be arbitrarily exercifed. The things as well ad the manner, is defined by ftri6t ftipulation *. As to the claim of convoy, beyond ail doubt, if the privilege of convoy v^^ere abufed in pT0te«£ting the trade of our enemy, that would be a very fit fub- ]g^ of rcprefentation. As far as we are acquainted with the precautions intended by the Northern powers, they feem to have been fully aware of fuch a poflible fraud -j" ; and there is nothing of this fort which, in my opinion, remonftrance and reafon were not capable of fettling. Even the prefence of convoy would not prevent fearch, and juftifiably too, in what the treaties call * cafes of lawful fufpicion;' — but, after all, your final fatisfaftion may as well depend upon the convoy as the (hip's documents. A found difcretion will be influenced by the na- ture of the cafe. It is not * fearch upon law- ful or urgent fufpicion,* fo well provided for in different treaties, that makes any part of the queilion ; it is the unqualified affumption of an univerfal right to fearch in all poihble cafes, or, in other words, fubje£ling the commerce of the * See Appendix, N^ II. f Id. N" III. 17 World to wayward, vexatious, haraffing, infult- ing interruptions and inquiries, without ftint or diftindion. — This is the grievance ; and, to judge of its juftice, I alk you, Would you en- dure fuch treatment yourfelves from any flate upon earth ? Would you ? There is no prin- ciple by which you can fo well attain the know- ledge of relative juiiice, as to put yourfelf into the place of another, and decide upon another by yourfelf. The extent of what you contend for would, if retaliated, lay at the difcrction of any petty power, not only all the free courfe of your trace, but alfo the proud fpirit and the high feeling which fo naturallv belong to your naval afcendency. Suppofe the king of Spain at war with Algiers. If a cafe can be imagined more Jikely than another to reconcile you to this humi- liation, it would be, I fuppofe, in favour of a Chrlftian king of Spain, contending with pirates, and robbers, and infidel barbarians. A Britiin fleet of merchantmen, in the lawful purfuits of trade, to your own ifiands, for inilance, of Mi- norca or Malta, or defined to any other of the Mediterranean ports, tiiough convoyed by a I'quadron of Englifli men of war, would, accord- ing to thefe arguments, be liable to be flopped, ranfacked, tcafed, and infultcd, by the meanell cutter in the Spanilh navy. Such would be the fate to v.hich your own maxims would expofe you, unlefs you frankly acknowlejige that you have one meafure for yourfelves, and another for the reft of the world. Whatever the lliifting gale of luck and fortune may fuggcft to feeble "minds, be affured that juflice is the bcft policy, and the founded principle. c 18 *' Notwitlidanding all the phlegm with which the honorable gentleman has ftigniatifed the three maritime flates in this Northern confede- racy, not one word has he uttered, as my ho- norable friend (Mr. Grey) has well obferved, iigainfl: the King of Prullia, one of the mofl ftrenuous parties in this league. — If the genius of the honorable gentleman's government were yet to be truly charadlerifcd, his conduct in re- fpe6l to this prince puts it in the moft glaring colours. Not only all the zvrong that may, in the opinion of many people, clog the quellion, but that which is the very pith and marrow of the whole difpute, the honorable gentleman has, by the reftoration of the capture in theTexel, given up to the king of Prufiia. VVhy r — Becaufe, lafe from the attacks of the Britilh navy, the King of Pruffia has the means of injury in his turn. What does all this demonftrate, but that the honorable gen- tleman is ready to give up every thing to force^ and nothing to realbii. Inftead of fparing the feeble, and pulling down the proud, he bows down to the mighty, and tramples upon the weak. With Denmark, vulnerable at all points, the Hon. Gentleman will not even confer, without a Britifli fleet -, but every thing is made a peace- offering to the King of Prufiia ** " My honorable friend (Mr. Grey) has truly and wifely faid, that he was not called upon to difcufs the queftion in difpute as a general prin- ciple. Certainly not ; — the bringing it to the prefent iffue is the very perfedion of impolicy. 'What!' anfwers the honorable gentleman (Mr, * See Appendix, N° IV. [9 Pitt) ' were we to give tliat up which Lord Stormont protelted againft in the year iy8or* Who wanted him to give it up? Where lay the neceiiity of either admitting or rejedling it? A cautious, a difcreet, and meafured hne of condu6l had faved the queftion from public difcuffion, and Europe from this nevv^ war. The greateft naval fuccefs cannot obtain more real advantage for you than you might have derived from prudence — vvhilfl: failure, it you fail, would make your dif- ,grace tentold. Granting you all that you look to, from arms, are you a bit nearer to your end ? Suppofe you feparate Denmark from this con- federacy — Humbled to the earth, admitting that the apologife for her conduct, is the pretenfion, therefore, at reft for ever? Do what you will, the claim will not be extinguiflied by the fubmiliion, but will revive with the means of enforcing it *. " Upon the whole of this bufmefs, what is the obvious inference, but that thofe who fancy fome ftrange interelt in this dreadful trade of war — feeing jacobinifm, and all their other pre- texts for its duration, grown ftale and difguftin^ — have manoeuvred to afibciate with the national cnthufiafm in tavor of its navy, a point in which its real intercfts are but little involved j have en- deavoured to draw from the public prediie£tion for that fervice, fo natural and fo well deferved, perhaps the means of advancing fome new plan or fpeculation no way connetted, as upon former occafions, with the profelTed objeft. Foes or neutrals, what is fo probable or lb plaufible to be urged, by jacobins and others, as that tliefe * Sec Appendix, N" V! C 2 s- 20 lionorable gentlemen, who have no charfi£ler for , paciiication, and have yet jufl: as much as their conduft merits, have fallen, as it were, upon this }ucky queliion in good time to roufe the expiring energies of the country into new offers of lives and fortunes, for an obje6l that may feem nearer and dearer to them than the further prolongation of the war with France — the great fuccefs of which its late condudor has, this night, fo mi- nutelv detailed to vou. " Now, fir, let us proceed to confider this fuccefs. '' The honorable gentleman (Mr. Dundas) vciifls this motion, this night, in a way which, ;fhough not wholly new from the fame quarter, brings, with every repetition of the fame argu- ment, fome frefn caufe for aftonijliment. '' The alledgment 'that this war has been fuc- cefsful ' is not made now by that honorable gen- tleman, for the fnft time, it is true j but then his recurrence to former, I will not fay ' explod- ed,' but too frequently urged, and as frequently refuted, reafonings, is compcnfated by fome- tliing quite untouched in pall difcuihons. It now feems that this war was undertaken for the purpofc of ' conquering the colonies and defraying the commerce of France.' The re- lloration of monarchy — the overthrow of jacobin principles — the abafemcnt of France, and con- fining her to her ancient limits — the balance of power — the caufe of law, order, and religion — all thcfe are gone by ; and the fplendid 91 ?T2ver!es, tliat were foothed by fucli con- templations, are fallen, alas ! and funk down \o the capture of iliips and of tropical fetfle- nients. In this view of things the honorable gentleman ventures to compare the fuccefs of the prefenc with that of the Seven Years' war, and finds great confolation in difcovering, that €ven in that glorious contention there had been fome rcverfes — alluding particularly to Minorca and to Rochefort. With fome portion of triumph he refers to thefe misfortunes, and applies his difcovery, in rather a fmgular manner, as an argument to the prefent queflion ; for he gives you this piece of hiflory as a rcafon againji going into any enquiry regarding the failures of the prelcnt war. " Moft unfortunately for the honorable o-entlc- man, the very misfortunes to which he has ad- verted were inftantly followed by enquiries in this houfe. It has been refervcd for the prefent war, though the moft difgraceful in its externa], and the moft wretched in its domcrcic confe- quenccs, of any that this country ever waged, to be the only isjar in which this houfe never faw any grounds for retrofpcft or rcvilion. All the colletted calamities of all their predecelTors, for ages, do not equal, either in kind or number, the exploits, during the prefent war, of the ad- jninillrationjufl retired from oflice; yet they arc ///j mily men ever poflefl'ed of the powers of govern- ment in this country, who never, even in a finn-le inflance, yielded to any enquiry, upon any pajrt of the innumerable and varied difgraccs that have marked the lad nine years. — So unlucky h the honorable gentleman in the cafe of Mi- c ^ Q9 norca, that every thinj^ rcfpefting that bufinefs makes directly againll: him. To whatever caufe the lofs of that ifland may be attributable, this houfe immediately enquired into the caufe. A perfon for whofe memory I have the deepeft gratitude and love*, then one of the king's mi- nifters, far from refifting, as the honorable gen- tleman refifts, was the moft eager in hijijling upon enquiry. Unlike the prefent times, the Houfe of Commons, then, had not been tutored into that confidence in minifters which diftinguiflies ]ater periods; and the parliamentary enquiries that followed the failures to which the honorable gentleman alluded, fo far from embarraffing the operations of government, or unnerving the martial energies of the country, (thefe ftale ob^ jeftions to the approved and happy pra61ice of our anceflors) were fucceeded by a feries of un- exampled renown. Such is the honorable gen- tleman's luck, in his hiftorical references ! " Not one word that I have ever uttered, or that ever came out of the lips of any friend of mine at this fide of the houfe, has tended, even in the moft diftant degree, to llur or under-rate the achievements of our fleets: and I will leave the houfe to judge whether any perfons, in it or out of it, have dwelt with more rapture upon the triumphs of that branch of the fervice than we have. — From this, however, the honorable srentleman drives to draw a defence of a nature truly fingular. He endeavours to intermingle with the glories of the navy the abfurditics of his own expeditions; and afks, 'how the mili- '^' Lord Holland was Secretary of State in \'/55. 23 tary plans can be all folly, and the naval all wifdom, both being advifed by the fame heads ?' — The queftion anfvvers itfelf It is in the nature of naval tactics, that a great deal de- pends upon the officers and men, upon winds and weather i — in land operations a good plan is almoft every thing. Yet the merit of the Ad- miralty is indifputable. It is true there are parts of theadminiflrationjof Lord Spencer (for whom my perfonal refpe6l is confiderable) not free from blame, particularly what related to the invafions of Ireland j but where the general fyftem has been judicious and profperous, it would be invidious to dwell upon a few errors. The honorable gentleman would incorporate thefe two fcrvices; and is ready to take his fhare in the blame of the Admiralty, generoully commuting the glories of his own department for their mifcarriages. Sir, every prefump- tion is in favor of the Admiralty: every proof againlt him. Nobody aHcs about the merit of the Admiralty. It fpeaks for itfelf; — and equally obvious is the true chara6ter of the honorable gentleman's department. If all his expeditions have been marked by difcomfiture and difgrace ; if the failure of fome is aggravated by circumftances too painful to touch upon j if fuch armies, with the courage they are known to j)ont'fs, have produced or.ly fuch cfTctts, — the re- ililt lit infallible. It is but to name the enter- prizes, — and the intormation, the ikill, the vigor, iUKl the ability of thofe who planned them, arc as plain as dcmonftration could make them. No man will ever en(iuirc about the wifdom that projct\ed the expcditit)ns to Qulberon, to F/aft- C4 24 acrs, to St. DomingOy to Holland, to Ferrol^ tq Cadiz, &c. Thefc things arc paft all curiofity. " The honorable gentleman has another way of reconciling this houfc to his difafters. With a precifion that is quite ludicrous, and a gravity of face which, unlefs he were quite certain of his audience, would excite a fafpicion that he was mocking the houfe, he gives us the dates, to an hour, of the days on which his expeditions failed, when they landed, retreated, or capitu- lated : fomctimes it is the wind, and fometimes the rain, and fometimes the frofi, the fnow, the coldjj the heat ; now it is too early, and then it is too late : — and to this notable narrative the houfe liftens, without once faying * tell us of a fingle military enterprize in v,'hich you have fucceeded? and if you cannot, give us fome better reafon than your own words to believe that you are blamelefs. Let ns enquire into the fa61s, and judge for ourfclves.' The honorable gentleman, witli this mafs of defeats before his eves, has the hardihood to talk of the luccefs of this war ; and thinks the enumeration of iilands and fettle- inents, and a fchedule of captured fliips and frigates, will blind the eyes and confound the underftandings of men, fo as to be diverted from the or, ly proper confideration, the only rational teft of con^iparative fucccfs, namely, the relative Jmiation of the tivo countries, (of which a word by- and-by) /;/ -pcint of -power. This is the true cri- terion of fuccefs, even without recurring to alj the former piotives to this war — redoring mon- archy, and putting down atheifm and jaco- l)inifm, and God know§ what. 25 '' Of the word dherfmn, the honorable gentle- man gives us indeed a very curious illuflration. " Up to this moment, I believe no man ever underllood any thing elfe by * military diverfion* but the drawing off, by means of a few, a larger number of your enemy, who might hurt you more in another quarter. The expedition to Holland, he tells us, had three obje61s in view, — the capture of the fleet — giving the Dutch an op- portunity of fliaking off the yoke of France — and making a diverfion for our allies in Italy and on the Rhine. He alks, ' Is it nothing to have ten. fliips of the line added to our own navy, which elfe would be at this moment a means of annoy- ing us in the hands of our enemy r* Sir, in this, as in every other inflance, the Englifli navy did the duty affigned to it nobly ; and if the capturp of the Dutch fleet was a primary obje6t of that memorable expedition, that obje£i was accom- plifhcd without any ncceflity of hazarding any land experiments, under the honorable gentle- man's aufpices ; — for, in point of fad, the fleet revolted and furrendered before the landing on the Helder-Pohit. " With refpccl: to the fccond obje6f, namelv, ' giving the Dutch an opportunity of fliaking olf the yoke of France,' how the Dutch felt and feel at this hour, with what horror they re- ceived your proffered releafe from their bondage, and the execration with which they load your name, it is unneccfl'ary to flate. But in the third and grand pr)int, that of a diverfion in favor of our allies, f/icrc we did wonders. 26 " If Europe were fearched,not a place could be found fo well calculated, for enabling a fmnller to combat a larger army, as thisfele61ed fpot. To this fatal neck of land did that honorable gentleman devote thirty thoufand Britiflifoidiers,and(vvhilll:, aggravated by the derifion of Europe, this coun- try had the mortification of feeing a Britifli artny purchafe its efcape from an army much inferior to itfelf, by the delivering up of eight thoufand picked feamen) fo fignal was the benefit to our allies of this precious diverfion, that, about the very time that the Englifh army was making that ' refpedable retreat, the grand armies of our allies, under Hotze and Suwarrow, were broken, beaten, difperfcd, and routed, never more to rally or unite. " Such was the honorable gentleman's dher- fwn in Holland I — fuch its effeds ! " But his unconquered mind was not yet fub- dued enough from military expeditions. He propofcd new fources of renown for thofe armies whofe happy deftiny it was to be ac his difpofal. Becaufe he failed in the north, he was certain of fuccefs in the fouth ; and, furc enough, he difpatches a formidable force under Sir Ralph Abkrcrombie, not as ' a di-verfion !' no, — this body v;as deftined to co operate directly with the Auftiians in Italy. This armament, delayed, until any man of common fenfe muft have fccn its total inutility towards its profeikd objc6f, arrives at Genoa, juft in time- — for what.^ to aifill General Melas ? No, — but juft in time to have the earlieft intelligence of his total ruin. It fails into the road oiGeno'ay to faii out again, and 27 efcapes into the Mediterranean at the very time the Aultrian garrifon in that capital pafles out to meet their defeated countryinen in the northern- nioft parts of Italy. But was this co-operation defired by the Auftrians? No fuch willi is ex- prefied or felt. The honorable gentleman plainly enough lets us underftand the dire£l contrary. And '.vas it thus that Britifh armies were accuftomed to be treated in former wars ? Was it in this way that Prince Eugene a61:ed to the Duke of Marlborough ? What then is the fa6f ? but that the hitherto untarnifh- ed reputation of our arms has fo fuffered under the baneful mifmanagement of his majelty's late minifters, that the co-operation o^ twenty thoufand Englijhmen is fo flighted by our allies, that they deprecated their aid, refolved to touch nothing belonging to us — but our guineas. " Now, fir, as to the dt;!ny of this expedition to Italv, let me imnlore the attention of the Jioufe to the honorable gentleman's defeJice. " With the fame admirable minutcnefs, as to days and dates, he tells you that this grand fcheme was determined on the zzd of February. On the 23d, he told it to the king. On the 24th he told it to the duke. On the zSih the duke told him fomething. The honorable gentleman then reads two letters, the one from Sir Charles Stewart, the other from the Duke of York, in fupport of this part of Viis defence. — 1 have been called a new member this night ; and new ,'ir;d raw indeed muft I be, and wholly ignorant of the practice of this honfe, if I could hear, wilh-nit reprobation, that which would have been 28 icouted and fpurned in llie good times of the Engliili conftitution, — ^vvhen a fpirit of juft jealoufy of its rights, and a proper fenfe of its independence, prevailed in this Houfe, inftead of a blind confidence in the executive government. In fuch times, no minilter v^ould have dared to have read to the Hoafe of Commons of England the garbled extrads, juft as fuited his own pur- pofe, of letters from general-officers, as an excufe for inifcarriac'cs, aOedfins: in the neareft and dearefl: fenfe the honour and interefts of the country. It is true that I have not been, for fome time, in habits of intercourfe with the il- iuftrious perfon who is at the head of the army ; but c^reativ indeed mull he be chano;ed from what I knew him, if he would not mark, with his abhorrence this ftyle of palliation. For what is it? and what does it prove? — that, if there were nothing more than we have heard, his Royal Highnefs ought to be in- fcantly impeached. I'he national defence of England — its militia, is cut up by the roots j the general body of its officers is difgufted by the laws part in 1799, which transferred to the line fo large a proportion of its befl: difciplined men. Thefe men, leaving the militia a mere (keleton, are incorporated with regular regiments, and em- barked for Holland; and, feven months after their firft embarkation to, and five months after their return from, that difaftrous enterprize, their commander-in-chief informs the executive go- vernment, if we are to believe the honorable gentleman, * that it will take full two months to difcipline them into fitnefs for actual fer* vice V 29 " Was there ever before fuch a defence as this, hazarded before an aflembly of rational men ? '' Thofe troops which, at the expenfe of the national mihtia of this country, were boafted as moft excellent in the fummer, are declared, in the beginning of the next fpring, to be good for nothing, without, at the Icaft, ' two months' drill- ing and forming. They were, it feems, in the completelt fiate poffible for tlie field in Auguft ; — but in the following February, even their leader, if we are to believe the war minifter, de- fcribes them as wholly ufelefs, unlefs they have fuch a length of time allowed them to be per- fected iu their exercifes as defeated whatever hopes the redoubtable project to the Mediter- ranean might excite. To all this, the honorable gentleman adds, That the weather was too wet for field-days, and, when not wet, was very cold — tlTC men had not even an opportunity of knowing their officers. " Some little advantage of climate France poflTciTes over tliis country • — but never fare did any analyzer of atmofphercs conceive that the very weather which, in the one country, prevented foldiers from peepins^ out of their quarters, enabled the other to collect and to create, from raw recruits, a perfect army, and to carrv this armv, fo created, over thcfe mijjhtv barriers, the paflage of which was one of the wonders o{ the ancient, and one ot the doubts of the modern world. It was in that very weather, at th.e remembrance of which the honorable gen- tlcnian fliivers, that Bonaparte — but not un- til he had almoft proftrated himfelf, in his foli- 30 citations for peace, before the infatuated rulers of the unhappy nations at war with France- then it was, even in that weather, that this extra- ordinary man afiembled and animated the youth of France. He found good weather for field- davs, and had time enough fo to drill and dif- cipline his new-raifed corps, as to break to pieces the veceran legions of Auftria, and in one day to recover ail the conqucfts of two fuccefsful campaigns. ** But had the honorable gentleman's expedi- tion been able to fail fooner :' — ' If the battle of Marengo had not been loft :' — 'Biie — ' If — Why, iir,Ido not know what degree of fortune there may be in this battle, or in that battle ; but I believe the honorable gentleman never was more mif- taken than he would find himfelf, even in the event of Bonaparte's defeat at Marcntro. iSuch were the precautions of that fruitful mind ; fo well did he arrange his meafures \ fo little did he, in truth, truft to mere fortune, that if, againft all probability, Marengo ' had been loft,' that mighty genius had fo formed aiid difpofed his refources, that many and many a bloody battle muft have been gained by his enemies befojc they could h^ve made much imprelTion upon the in- comparable fyftem of his operations in Italy lall fumri:ier. *' I defy imbecillity itfelf to ftring together a more motley pack of excufes than the honorable gentleman has laid before the houfe this night. Amjierdam had been taken, z/"5?y Ralph Aeer- CROMEi E had landed on the- \6th hi/lead of the 21th •of Aug%'.Jl\ — 5/r Charles Stuart's ^//)?z/l'^ to the o 1 ■Rnjians prciya^fed Sir Ralth's depart are for the Mediterranean. — Ten thoujand Irijh militia zvere to come to England^ and ten thoujand Englijh to go to Ire- land. — Some of the troops wanted their new, coats — feme their arms. — One expedition failed on the 8//; of Jprd, took Jhelter on the i .?///, and re failed on the 7.^th.—It zvas dcfgned to ajjiji the Avjlrians, but the Avfirians zvould not be affijied. — There zsjas no plan or concert betzveen the two courts. — An account current ivith the Seven Years' zvar -, took more flips than. Lord Cn AT HAM, andmoreifands. — St. Domingo •was unhealthy and rather expenfrje ; but it zvas a good market. — This zvar has opened vjorlds of nezv markets.— Returns i even to a man, of this nevj-raifed corps at Gibraltar, Minorca, Malta, Portugal ; and the total of your force, nozv and in 1797, zvilh a mofi comfortable exadnefs. — The hiftory of England fom 1735/0 1762 — from Sever nd) oog to theHavannah ; — In a word, fuch a feries of infuUing puerilities as no houfe of parliament was, ever betore, entertained with, under the name of a defence. So much, for the prefent, of the late fecrctary ; and now to proceed to another viezv of the fuccefs of this war. " The late Chancellor of the Exchequer tells us, that he forbears going over the military ex- ploits, only becaufe his honorable friend (Mr. DuNDAs) has put thofe things in the clcarefl light. He is equally pofuive as to * the fuccefii of the war;' but, not to ufurp upon his truly fortu- nate colleague, he has his own peculiar inllances to detail of profpcrity, of comfort, and ot n:ulii- plicd happinefs— all flowing in upon the country trom hi'j own more immediate deparimciJt. 32 " Quite fcandalifed at my honorable friencV^ flatement of the magnitude of the national debt in confequence of this war, the honorable gen- tleman pares dozvn its amount fmce 1793 to the trifle of ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY MILLIONS: and how? — by a mode furprifingly curious indeed. Firll, he cuts out the fifty-fix millions, for which the income-tax is mortgaged ; and next, he de- fires you to forget all that the fale of the land- tax has already purchafed, or may yet redeem. Alas, lir ! there is not a gentleman in this houfe who would rejoice more than I, that the income- tax was to be fet down for nothing j and I can- not help admiring that frontlcfs infentibility under which the honorable gentleman pades over a grinding impoft that has ripped open the private concerns, and reduced the necelTary com- forts, of every man in England. The cxtinflion of debt from the fale of the land-tax carries its own evil in its tail ; and we might as well rejoice at our profperity from that meafure, as a private man would from paying his debts by bringing his eftate to the hammer. The debts in io far may be paid i but the efiate is gone for ever. The honorable gentleman muft think his audience are children, when he attempts to cajole them by fuch a play upon words. *' In reality, what is the date of the country upon this point ? *' From fuch a population as that of Great Bri- tain, near forty millions flerling are annually wrung: to this add ten millions more for the poor-rates, making together about fifty millions. The honorable gentleman has eltimated the land- no ed rental of England at twenty-five millions. Thus then, we pay, yearly, double the produce of the whole rental of the country, in rates and taxes ; a fum approaching very near the whole income of the coujitry, taking the income-tax as the bu- rometer of its amount. Was any nation ever before in fuch circumltanccs ? If nothing- elfe were Itated but this undifputed fad:, is it not, of itfelf, a crying reafon for inquiry.-^ Will the honorable gentleman tell us of any people that were (not in degree merely, but in kind or prin- ciple) in fuch a ftate, fmce the beginning of the world .? As to the finking tund, let it be always remembered that its effects, highly beneficial as they are, muft depend upon the revenue keeping its level. If the revenue fails, the charm of the fmking fund vanitlies into nothing. This, fir, is the true pitture of our financial condition as a ftate ; and the condition of the people is ftri6fly anfwerable to it. One fixth of all the fouls in England is fupported by charity ^ and the plight of a great proportion of thofe who contribute to their maintenance is but little better than that of the paupers whom they fuccour. How the hon. gentleman has nerves to fuitain him in venturing to talk of the happinefs of this country, would be incomprehenlible, it our long experience of him had not convinced us of the tondnefs with which he can furvey every a6t of his own. The repetition of his delufions, deludes even him- feif. He has indulged fo much in thefe falla- cious and fatal reveries, that he appears to have become his own bubble, and almoll to miltake for realities the phantafmas of his bewildered wits. Let him a(k any of the members iiom Yorklhirc and Lancalhire, what the ftate i» of 34 the mnnufa6>urcrs in tliofe counties ; even thofe (lookini^ at Mr. Wilberforce) of whom I may not think the bed:, will not venture to deny the ftarving, diftra61:ed condition of tliofe great and populous di(tri6ts. From them, he may receive an emphatical and decifive contradicftion to hi* dillempered and pernicious fancies. *' Thefe, fir, are fome of the internal effc£is of this war, which both the honorable gentlemen (Meflrs. Pitt and Dundas) venture to compare with former contentions againrt France. VVe have taken more, they tell us, than even in the feven years war, and therefore this furpaffes that in fuccefs. Good God, fir, what an effcft does a confidence in the votes of this houfe produce upon the underftandings of men of abilities I " To talk of this zvnr, and that of the feven years !! ' We have dellroyed the commerce of France — we have taken their iflands,' fay you — But thefe, I fay, were not the objeds of the war. If vou have detiroved the commerce of France, you have dcftroyed it at the expenfe of near three hundred millions of debt. If you have taken the French iflunds, you have made a boot- lefs capture ; for you are ready enough to re- ftore them as the price of peace. You have taken iflands — but you have, at the fame time, laid the houfe of Auftria profirate at the feet of triumphant France. Have you reftored mon- archy ? — Its very hopes are intombed for ever. Have you dcftroyed jacobinifm as you call it? — Your refiftance has made it ftronger than ever. Have you reduced the power of France ?— France is aggrandized beyond the wildeft dreams of former ambition. Have you driven her within her ancient frontiers? — She has enlarged herfelf to the Rhine, and to the Alps ; and added five mil- h'ons to l.er population in the centre of Europe. You had all the great Hates of Europe for your allies agalnfl: France — what is become of them ? All that you have not ruined, are your deter- mned enemies. Where are the neutral powers ? Every one of them leagued with this very France for your deftrudion. Could all this be chance ? —No, fir, it is the true fucceffion of effect to caufe. Ic is the legitimate iffue of your own fyftem. You began in foolidniefs, and you end in mifchief. Tell me one (ingle objeft of the war that you have obtained. Tell me one evil that you have not brought upon your country. Yet this houfe will not inquire. The honorable gentleman (Mr. Dundas) fays ' We have had more difficulties to encounter than anv former government ; for we had conftantly thwarting us the implacable monficr, Jacobinifm.' Sir, jaco- binifm has, in it, no property, fo furc, as the honorable gentleman's fyftem, to propagate and confirm it. That fyftem has given to jacobinifm life and nutriment, ftrength and maturity, which it could not have derived from any other courfe. Bent upon crufiiit^g every idea of any reform, they refolved to ftifie the once free genius of the Englifli mind, and fufpend fome of the moft va- luable parts of the Englifli conllitution, rather than yield one jot. Hence their adminiflration is marked, in this countryyhy a fucceffion of infringe- ments upon the deareft rights of the people — by invalioDS Jind rebellions in another country. The parent fource of all thefc diforders is that bane- ful impolicy, in which both the honorable gen* T) 2 36 tiemen endeavour to implicate thir. houfe. * All that we have done,' fays the honorable gentleman (Mr. DuNDAs), who, to be fure, is more a mau of things, than words, ' has been approved by all, except a miferable remnant'-^ of this houfe,' (an ex- prefiion which he ufes, I prefume, to Oiow, that though an afcl: of parliament may incorporate legiilaturcs, it cannot unite languages;) and the * 1 wlfli I may prevail upon my reader to procure Mr. Dundas's fpeech, publillied by Mr. Rivington ; a fpeecli which, J alilire him, fuffers nothing in the report : and is, fo far, alas ! very unlike to this which he is now perufing. That veriion of Mr. Dundas's arguments moft accurately omits the palTiige to which the above part of Mr. Fox's fp'.ech refers ; and it is not fo much to blame the good talle of the retrench- ment (if any difcretion is allowable in fuch cafes) that 1 make the obfervation, as to guard againrt miliake, and prevent the reader's imagining that Mr. P'ok was, in this part of the text, combating, not nonfenfe, but, inanity. Indeed, far from cenfnring IMr. Dundas for a praftice which Demofthenes, and TuUy, and Mirabeau, and Burke, have fanftioned by their example, I wifh I could commend, for any thing like fimilar anxiety, the perfon whofe reafon- Ings I am endeavouring to convey to the country upon a fub- ject of fuch intcrefl to its welfare ; but of Mr. Fox this is an almoft fmgular certainty: not only that he never publifhed any of his fpecches, but never lent the leait aflilbnce to any body who engaged to do fo, nor has at any time feen, cither in manufcript or print, one fyllable that ever fell from his lips till it was before the world. i\gaii)ft any publications of parliamentary fpeeches there are undoubtedly authorities j but never yet has the writer heard one found argument to Hiow that a faithful tranfcript VMtbout, of the tranfactions %viihhi parliament, is not a great national advantage. Thofe who, aiming at all poflible accuracy, give the debates to the public, in my opinion, are public bene- facStors; atid what their labour mud be who profeflionally rrport them, 1 can feelingly imagine, even from this fample : though 1 have had more weeks to accomplifh it, than they often have hours to render a whole night's fpeaking. The Reporter. 37 other gentleman is fo anxious to edabllfli the popularity of his fyftem, that he ahiioft re- proaches the houfe with coldnefs, in their fup- port of him. He complains that only ' fe-ven eighths' of the members of this houfe were for his meafures, when he had * nine tenths' of the people. - " If this were true of the people, they would almofi: deferve their prefent fate; — but the drift of all this is obvious enough. This identifica- tion of himfelf with the houfe ; this laborious fliifting, as it were, of the honorable gentleman's own refponlibility upon their votes, is very intcl- lioible : and he falls into that clalhcal corrc6l- nefs which I have before noticed in his honor- able friend, in his great zeal to make that point clear. Ihough he has had three parlia- ments, chofen, one would have thought, pretty well to his taftc, he alTerts that even the majori- ti::'Sof this houfe could not come up to the tone of the public, in favour of his mealures, which, he fays (thinking, however, with his honorable friend, that our oppofition was, at the fame time, an advantage to him), had the fandlion of all, but a few ' exploded opinions^ in this houfe, " Exploded opinions," then, he defines to be, opinions which this houfe negatives by its ma- jorities. The honorable gentleman mull allow n]e to inform him, that his great and jnftly re- vered father fpent the greater y)art of his life in the enforcement of fuch ' exjiloded o|)inions.' 1 mull remind him, that he himfelf (who has fince found fuch effeflual means of giving cur- rency to his fentimentb] was for fomc time tainted i\3 38 vith fuch ' exploded opinions.' ' Exploded opinions' liave c'iitinguillied many of the wife fi: and the heft men this nation ever produced ; and though 1 lament the fufferings of my country from the negle6t of thofe opinions, I allure the ' honorable gentleman, and this houfe, that there is nothing on which I ihould fo fteadily rely for the regard of good men, living, or of pofierity, when in my grave, as thofe very opinions which the votes of this houfe have enabled the honor- able gentleman to ftigmatize as ' exploded.* " In point of fa£i, liowever, the honorable gen- tleman, ftiil furveying himfc'f in the flattery of his own mirror, is wholly miflaken about thefe * exploded opinions ' It was to thefe * exploded opinions' that the negotiations of Paris and Lille are attributable. We gave ftrong reafons in this houfe for peace. The public thought with us: and we have his own words, that he en- tered upon that treaty only in compliance with what he now calls * exploded opinions.' *' But the honorable gentleman has a keen anxiety, lell this houfe ihculd not continue to think thefe opinions quite fo 'exploded;' for he afks, ' Vv ill this houfe, by going into the pro- pofed inquiry, difgrace its former votes?' To which I anfwer, 'Yes, certainly, if this houfe will fave the country.' In the very houfe of commons, to which I before alluded, tlie early fcene of the honorable gentleman's ' exploded opinions ' — this very ftimulus to pride was urged, though without effecl. T/iat houfe, as well as fAis houfe, was queliioned, * Will you, the uni- form fupporters of this war agaiall America^ dif- 39 grace your former votes ? ' But, fir, they did difgrace their former votes; and, by fo doing, they did honor to themfelves, and faved their country. That parliament was a retracting and a recanting parliament. Bitter as it was, the. draught was fwallowed ; and I have no hefita- tion in faving, that this houfe, to refcue this country, if that indeed be poflible, from the perils in which that honorable gentleman has involved it, muft tread in the footftcps of its pre- decc'ilbr in 1782 — and, by renouncing the ho- norable gentleiuan and his fyllem together, pre- ferve this country from its impending dangers. ** Let it be obferved, by the way, that the good acceptance of the honorable gentleman's opinions in this houfe, happens to have been fupported bv the fublidiary aid of all the power of this go- vernment. PoffefTed of that little adjunct, he mav double or treble the national debt, but he may be pretty fure, that his opinions will have a tolerable reception here. To efcape the odium of being 'exploded,' he may be certain there is no remedy fo effectual as his refuming his former ofHce, or (bowing a perfect obfequioufnefs to thofe who arc armed with its influence. " Now, fir, I come to the confideration of the late change of adminillration. " Before I touch upon the others, allow me to fjiv, that with rcf|)ed to one of them, 1 do not think it would be eafy, if i)o(TibIe, to find a man in the whole community better fuited to, or more capable of, the high office he fill-s than the di- ftinguiOied perfon at the head of the admiralty ; D 4 40 I mean ofcourfe, and can mean no other than, the Earl of St. Vincent; — but beyond him, I own, I do not feel myfelf able to fay onb word that can be very agreeable to any individual o£, all the remainder. *'As to the mere change., it is true that no change can be for the worfe ; for I defy the evil genius of the country to pick out an equal number of men from any part of England, whofe me;vfures could, in the fame length of time, reduce the country to a more deplorable ftate than that in which the retired minifters have left it. But was there no alternative for the country between them and their exad fucceffors? 1 feel this to be a very unpleafant part of this night's un- avoidable difcuflion: — in matters of importance, however, delicacy muft give place to duty. The late chancellor of the exchequer, not perhaps quite freely from redundancy, has blended, with his panegyric of the honorable gentleman over againll me (Mr. Addington), a gaudy picture of the importance of the chair .which you, fir, ©ccupy. I agree that the office of fpcaker is a high and honorable ftation. It is certainly the firft dignity in this houfe ; and I fuppofe it was merely for the public good, that both your pre- decefibrs defccnded fiom that altitude to infe- rior places, but ha])pening to be, at the fame tinie, fituations of infinitely more emolument and power. A man, however, may be an excellent chairman of this houfe, as the late fpeaker un- doubtedly was. without being exactly (jualified for the office of chancellor of the exchequer. At the prefenr moment this is all that I think ne- cefl'ary to fay regarding the refpe6lable and 41 honorable gentleman whom you, fir, have fucr ceeded. " The next in importance, both of office and characler, is the noble lord upon the oppofite bench (Lord Hawkesbury), who has richly fliared thofe florid praifes the honorable gentleman (Mr, Pitt) has poured fo fluently upon the whole body of his fucceffors. I alTure the noble lord that I have as much refpedt for him as I can have for any perfon, whom I, perfonally, know fo little. He has been, it is true, as the honorable gentleman has faid, a mem- ber of this houfe for many years, and, 1 doubt not, a very diligent member; — but if you had polled the country, not an individual could be found in it Icfs happily felecled for the peculiar department he occupies, than the noble lord; — the noble lord who, in whatever clfe he may furpafs ihem, does not yield even to any one of thofe whom he officially fucceeds in the virulence of his obloquies upon the French revolution ; whn has fjient as many hours in this houfe as any member cf the late or prcfent miniltry, in lliowing the irredeemable infamy of treating with * that republic of regicides and alTaOins.' Never, fure, was there a worfe calculated propofer of peace to Paris, than the verv noble lord who was for cutting the matter ([uite Ihort, and marching off band lo that capital. " W'^hat then is this country to cxpeifl: — a change of fyltem? No: f)r all that the public liave learnt upon thisfuhjcdt is this, that the new niinilk-rs are come in, dillinfctly and cxprefsly to fupport the fyftcm of the former ^ with this 42 fingle exception (which makes any hope of efta- blifliing the tranquillity of the country recently united to us, wholly defperate), that they are hoftile to the only meafure of their predecefTcns which has any pretenfion to wifdom and good policy. ** Before I proceed to the conclufion of this part of my fubjc6K I mud: l^eg leave- to fay fumething upon this much-talked of fuhjcdl of Catholic Emancipation. "As to the mere word * emancipation/ I agree with the honorable gentleman (xVIr. Pitt), that the exprelhon is not the bed ad- apted to the ciifc. It is not 'emancipation/ in the ordinary meaning of the term, tliat the Catholic wants, or that the government can grant ; it is the removal of the civil difabi- lities that remain, and that remain for no end of either fecuriry, of policy, or of prudence — in- fulting and vexatious dircin£tions, beneficial to Tio intercft whatever — but the fruitful fource of jealoufy, difcord, and national vveaknefs. The honorable gentleman talks of the king's reign having been a feries of conceflions to the Ca- tholics : — the king's reign is marked by no con- ceflions which the blamelefs condufl of the Ca- tholics was not calculated to exaSi from the moft unwilling government in the world, fJe talks of what has been given to the Catholics : — Sir, you give them nothing while you deprrve them of a right to fit in this houfe. I know of no political rights which ought not to be com- rnon to all the king's fubjetts, and I am fure that a fvftem of profcription, on account of 43 tneologlcal differences, will for ever be found not more unjull and abfurd, than pernicious. If this principle needed illuftration, Ireland aiTords it beyond the power of controverfy. Di- vided by the government, it prefents a conilant temptation to your enemy. Rebellion is the fruit (>f bad policy, and invafion is encouraged by difunion. " In mentioning the name of Lord Fitzwil- LiAM (fo ftrangely quoted by an honorable gen- tleman as having contributed to the misfortunes of Ireland by his propofal regarding the Ca- tholics), though I am eager to avow my partia- lities for that noble perfon, it is not from private friendfhip or perfonal regards that I call upon any really candid man, to deny, if he is able, upon his honor and confcience, that the fyftoni introduced by that noble lord would not, if then adopted, have prevented thofe dreadful fcenes of havoc, murder, and devaftation, which have fince defolatcd that wretched country. Let it for ever be remembered, that (with all the in- duftry which has been employed in making up the reports o\ the Irifli lords and commons uj)on thefe fubjedts) not a veflige ot evidence appears, but the direft contrary, that any approach was made to feek alliftance from France, or that even the mod diliant ideaof fcparation from, or fettin*'- up for indeper-dcnce of this country, was enter- tained in Ireland, until every petition for f)eaccfu] rcdrcfs of grievances was fpurned and rejc6led. " But, fir, this concclfion, to which a few years fincc (when, in my full belief, it would have prevented all the calamities that have fmce 44 happened) the honorable gentleman was fo de- termined an enemy, and of which he is now, it feems, a martyr, was to have been, in his hands, accompanied with God knows wliat guards and qualifications. The apprehenfions,! think all fuch wholly chimerical — But no matter — Whatever apprehenfions to church or flate the fearful or the zealous might entertain, to the grant of this Catholic claim, were all to be compofed and done away, by the healing, wholcfome, tran- quillizing plan of the honorable gentleman ; and after raifnig our expedation to the higheft pitch in favor of this choice fcheme, this choice fcheme, he tells us, muft be locked up in his own breaft. " Now, that the honorable gentleman fliould not impart his projecft to us, at this fide, whofe dif- like to it he anticipates, is nothing ; — but, that he fliould refolve to keep thh hoiife , <\.\-\d the public^ in total ignorance of this mo(t wife and perfe6t fyftem, is utterly unaccountable. The honorable gentleman's ftcady determination, to hide from the world this piece of excellence, reminds me of a faying of Mr. Burke, who, in his fmeftrain of ridicule, obferved, that if torture were ever to be juftificd, it was when a man retufed to reveal what he alfertcd would be a mighty benefit to mankind. Torture had of late been liberally ap- plied to extort the confeflion of evil ; and, if one could give the honorable gentleman credit for the juft grounds of his egotifm, it would almoft tempt a wifli, that he were compelled to difclofe this bleiled fecret. So obdurate is he upon this point, that he not only fears his lips againft fuch a happy difclofure, and proclaims his dctcrmii 45 nation not to introduce, in his own perfon, anr queftion upon this fubjeft, but he abfolutely tor- bids the houfe from difcuiTing it, by declaring, that fuch difcuirion will not be ufelefs merely, but mifchiei'ous. It is not, however, to this part of the bufincfs alone that the honorable gentle- man's myfleries are confined ; every thing con- nected with it is to be fhrouded in filence and concealment. After avowing very fairly, fo far, (though not the direct compofition) the fenfe and fpirit of the paper diffufed through Ireland in his name ; and after owning that his inabi- lity to propofe his Catholic regulations, as a mi- nifievy was alone the caufe of his refigning his office, — the honorable gentleman protefts againft: further explanation. * No further avowal or denial fiiall be drawn from him either now or hereafter.' This fure is the moll extraordinary declaration that ever fell from the lips of a pub- lic man. The honorable gentleman refigns his office becaufe he cannot propofe his meafure. To Ireland he fends his fentimcnts, as they ar(£ conveyed by a friend of his, in the paper alluded to. He dcfcribes his plan to this houfe as the perfeilion of all wifdom j and upon all thefe points he defies interrogatory, and deprecates comment. " The honorable gentleman afl:s — ' Is it won- derful that the fcjvercign Ihould have an opinion ? No certainly i — and it the honorable gentleman did not make himfelf acquainted with his fo- vercign's opinion, upon tliis point, long before the propofed introdu(;:ti()n of his meditated fy- ftcm, he was guilty of a breach of duty. In what pofljble way can the honorable gentleman be excuipat'.'d from the charge of grofs irrcvc- 46 rence to the king, or of abufing h many millionsi of his people ? He denies that any pofilive pledge was given to the Catholics at the union ; but admits tliat it was natural for them to cherifli expectation from it. Natural ! — Why, unlefs they reafoned very deeply indeed upon the ho- norable gentleman's mind, fuch an expectation was inevitable. In the nature of things they muft have looked upon it as a certainty. " I fliall fay nothing of the ot/ier means employ- ed to accomplifli the union ; — but, in refpect to the operation of the Catholic queftion upon that meafure, I can eafily conceive that if any friend of the Catholics, fuppofing my relation the Duke of Lehijerj or any other perfon well affe£ted to their caufe, or any of the leading Catholics themfelves, fliould have been confulted by the honorable gentleman, what can be fo likely as that the honorable gentleman fliould hint in private, what he has fo diftinclly dated in public, namely, that the fliorteft, furcft courfe to the attainment of their objeds would be, their fupport of that meafure, from the adop- tion of which, a/one, thofe concefl'ions could flow which were fo otten refufed by provincial prejudice, ignorance, and injuftice. Upon the other hand, I cannot perceive any thing more probable than that the reluftance of thofe early enemies to the union, who arc, at the fame time, fuch infuriated terrorifts in favor of Proteftant afcendancy, had been fubducd by affurances that an Imperial Parliament alone could raife a barrier fufficiently powerful to beat back the claims of the Catholics, fo often, and fo likely to be often preferred in the parliament of that country. It appears to me that nothing could 47 be at once more likely, and more like a pledge!, than all this, when thofe public declarations of the honorable gentleman are remembered, which lett no referve upon this — that for either giving or rejecting the Catholic claim, the juftice to tee; it, the liberality to grant it, and the flrength to fecure it to the one fed, without mifchief to the other, could be expeded in a general parliament of the Empire — and in ihat alone. " Tliat both parties in Ireland are difcontented and difgulled cannot be otherwife than too true. To the Proteftant zealot there is no fecurity, or fatistadion to the Catholic claimant. Such is the honorable gentleman's infelicitv upon this great queftion, that the meafare which was to be the remedy becomes the fource of all diftempers. Infiead of quieting, he has agitated every heart in that country. The epoch from which w^as to begin the reign of comfort and confidence, of peace and equity and juftice, is marked even in its outfet, by the eltablilliment of that which refts every civil blelVmg upon the caprice ot power. Ul-fiarr'd race ! to whom this vaunted uniw good a 2:race might he not anfwcr, ' With you I cannot treat — you are but newly in the poiTcirion of a doubtful power' — ' I muft have experience and the evi- dence of fads' — ' You have called me a child and champion, and fometimes a puppet :' * You are the children ai^.d champions of ihofe whom I have covt-red with indelible difgrace.' — ' How do 1 know that 1 can place the leall rdiai (.c upon any tre-aty made v.ith men who, indeed, may be mere puppets, moved by wires, in the hantls ot others r' 'ilius might Bonapautje; caft back, upon this govcrumriit the abfaid impediments E 1 52 that wrrc raifed againfl: any negotiation with him in January, 1800: — but I beheve him to be much too wife and too good a man ; too fenfible of that which conllitutes his trueft glory, the de- fire ot giving a durable peace to the world; to retort to fuch objections, or defcend, upon fo important a rabje£i, to repeat their words, whofe examplehchas ("corned in fo many other inltances. O! what a contrafl: is his conduct, to that of the gentlemen over againft me ! " To the reiterated importunities ofthisjfide of the houfe, in favor of negotiation, they have re- plied alternately in this ftyle. When beaten, * What,' faid they, *will you treat now and di- fpirit the country ? — is the moment of defeat the time for negotiation?' Not fo Bonaparte. Even in the (late to which the Directory reduced France — even before he drew the fword from the fcabbard, he humbled himfelf, (if the noble wiili of flopping the effufion of human blood could indeed be humilitv) to reconcile thofe honorable gentlemen to the refcoration of the world's tranquillity ; and it will be matter of curious reflection for after ages to obfervc /uc/z a man as Bonaparte almoH; upon his knees in fupplicatingy/^iZ' conduftors of war as thofe over againft me, for peace. In the crifis ot fucccfs, when we implored them to take advantage of the victories of our fleets, they have replied, * What treat nozv, when we are fo near the ob- jedl of the war ? Will you fully the glories of your navy?' But Bonaparte, who gained not a victory without making a propofal of peace, did not think that the glories of Marengo or Hohen- 53 linden were In danger of fading, (in truth, It makes them fliine with additional iplendor) from the conilant proffers of pacification made bv him who never won a laurel without lliovving the olive at the fame time. We, on this fide o{ the houfe, have been taunted with unnerving the people and undervaluing their refoarces, at the feveral epochs when, truly defcribing the country, we urged the other fide to peace. I am no advocate for defpondency, — and lliould be the lall perlon in the world to countenance a fentiment of defpair in either man or nation : but I am furc that the true road to ruin, for either, w^Duld be to fhut their eyes to the reality of their danger. How ftands that point with the rival government ? "Did Bonaparte blink the difficulties of France? It is polljble that, with a view to enhance his own renown, he may have magnified, but it Is quite certain that he did not undcrftate, its di- Itrefles ot any fort. Far froni it. He exhibited to his country a ftrong pitture of national mi- fery ; and to roufe the energies of France to thofe extraordinary achievements which immortalife the (hort campaigns of the iaft year, his pro- clamation was what ? — The anfvverof the gentle- men over againll me to his entreaties tor peace, ** Not all his conquefts — not all his fame — Co ^ffecluaily recruited the thinned phalanxes of the French armies as that folemn appeal to the good fenfe of I'rance, that liimulus to revolu- tionary ardor, and to tlie proud pallion ol na- tional independence, — the ever notable reply of Lord Grenvillh to xM. 'Iallkvrand. Ma- ^•- 3 54 rengo and Hohenllnden grew out of that famous paper. ** To a frank but refpe£\ful letter, addreflcd to the king of England, they fay ' Reftoie the Bourbons' — or, in other words, * Go hang yourfelf. If you would give a fpeedy peace to France, re-in- ftate that family, whofe firll a6i, in all probability, would be to bring yourfelf to the fcaffold.' — Bo- naparte was fo perverfe and ftrange a man, that he reje£led this good advice, and would not confent to his own deftru61ion and dishonor, by replacing France under that tyranny from which the revolution freed her, and which nine years of unheard-of fufferings and of martial prowefs, without example in hiftory, had been confecrated to annihilate, "The honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) feemed to kindle at the fuppofed charge of making the refloration of monarchy a Jine qua non of peace. Had that charge been really urged, I leave any man to judge whether the means of fupporting it are not abundantly fupplied by Lord Gren- ville's memorable difpatch ; but, though he tells us that we are callous to the refutation, the honorable gentleman, in fa6t, is combating a fhadow, for that is not the charge. A total jfailure of ail the declared obje6ls of the war, of which the rcftoration of monarchy was one of the foremoft, is the charge we make ; a charge which he has not anfwered and cannot anfwer; and if the honorable gentleman cannot diftinguilh between a motive to war, and :\fine qua non ox peace, he muft have left his underftanding be- hind him in his ofhce.. 55 We accufe him of ruining the hou(c of Au- flria ; and we fay that his condu6l could have no other tendency, and, in the nature of things, could have fio otiier effcEl When, in the corre- fp'indence with M. Otto, a naval armiftice was refifed ('rightly retuled perhaps, and })erhaps reafonably demanded in the triumphant lituation of France — I am not entering into that (juefiiori), as the condition to joint negotiation with Au- ftria, M. Otto fays, that the firft conful, though he will admit no Englilli miniller to Lunevillc, is readv and willing to enter into a feparace treatv with this country. The hoiioiable gentleman evades this propofal by pleading good faith to an allv, which ally deprecates his pretended and pernicious fidelity. Ilic honor- able gentleman reje6ls the only terms on which he could reafon^blv hope to ferve the emperor, and exa(fts the ftritt fulfil menc of the emperor's engngeuK'nt ' not to make a feparate peace before a given time.' Unwarned by Marengo and Hohenlinden, — untaught by the fk.ill and perfection with which tliat valt line of operations, extending from Nice to Mentz, had been coii- dL;61ed in the fatal experiment of the preceding fummer, — the honorable gentleman ftands upon tlie due and forfeit of his treaty ; and, as if the letter of this treatv, the wenlth of England, and every other inftigation by which he could p^oad on this devoted j)rince had -not been fulficient, he tells this houfe and the world, that, * as a jfec- tator, even as a fpe(5lator, he woidd advile the emperor Kq go cn\ fclcfling this word, as if his evil genius prompted it, tor the purpofe ol illiif- t rating the dificrencc between elo(iiicntC aii4 "JOiJdoni V. 4 56 •^ Now mark what followed. " All the flaiighter that deluged the earth, from the Mhicio to the Meine, a fuccelhon of conflant victories, day after day, till even Hohenlinden it- felf is furpafied by the convention, or rather the capitulation of Sleyr; and the head of the houfc of Ai.'ftria owing his crown to the clemency^ the forbearance, and magnaninuty of that per- fon, with whom thLfe over againft me have lo often faid it would be atrocious and foolilh to negotiate. The honorable gentleman's lilence, * as a fpc6lator,' having had a full trial, a fepa- rate peace is ligned at Luneville, and the two hundred and fifty millions fl;t rling, and the hun- dreds of thoufands of Britilh lives facrificcd, in order to overthrow the republican government, and abafe the power of France, all terminate in a treaty which regulates and decides the def- tinies of the other great powers of Europe, with- out this countrv beins: fo much as earned m it. All this wafte of weahh, of human life, and na- tional honor, finifli in the peace of Luneville, in which Great Britain is lefs thought of and re- garded, than the pooreft, pettiefl: prince in the whole empire of Germany. " All this pafles without a murmur; and the country, with a fottifh ftupidity, fees t/ialy like every other opportunity for refloring peace, go by in lilence and flupor. Can all this be chance.'' — \^'hat ! mere chance — that every, every 'it2L- fonable moment fliould be loft, and every fuc- ceeding epoch for refloring the country to peace, Ihould bring with it new and augmented difad- vantagcs, growing in exact proportion to the du- ration of the war! 57 *' You rcfufcd peace at Paris, at Lifle, and twice in 1800. Then give us better terms now, or anfwer to your co.untry tor throwing thofe away ■wliich you might have then had. " Is the lofs, for ever, of all thefe opportunities nothing but miftakes — mere venial errors? — -Sir, they are high crimes againft the well-being of this country ; and we ftate them as fuch. We ftate them not upon aflertion, but fact ; grant us the inquiry this motion aflis for, and we fhall prove them. r\ware of fuch an effetf, what is the honorable gentleman's conduct ? " All his dexterity is employed to (how thig houfe that it will be giving itfelt, as it were, a flap on tb£! face, if it adopt this motion ; and he makes to his friends a moil pathetic appeal upon grounds purely perfonal. Confcious that in- quiry will ruin him, he urges the pride, the con- fiftency, the feeling of the houfe to reje6l my honorable friend's motion ; and he warns liis noble relation (Lord Temple) to fparc his compliments, if he withhold his vote — inquir- ing into his conduct, he avows, is the worfl: fer- vice his friend;* can render him. Sir, undoubtedly this is, fo far, the truth, that a fair and honelt inquiririon would be his overthrow j and his conduct this night is a perfect comment upon his life. I3ut is it thus with men who dread not invcftigation ? The name of Lord Fitzwil- LiAM has been mentioned. " When a great queftion of ftate, affecting (as in the rcfult has too iatally appeared) the peace of a whole nation, was at ilfue between that noble Jord and the lionorablc gentleman's govern- 58 n"ent, how did Lord Fitz'.villiam a£> ? Did he fkulk. under the fuppofed fympathies of par- liament ? Did he fay. Don't bury me under compliments, if you vote for inquiry ? N's iir, that noble lord, in his place in the other houfe, provoked, demanded, and challenged inquiry; and it is in the memory of manv now prefent, that there was not, in this houfe, one perfon connected with that noble lord, by private friendlh'p, or by any other tie or intercourfe, who did not vote for going fully into that trans- a6Hon, Not fo the honorable gentleman, be- caufe he is confcious of no fuch caufe. This houfe rejected that motion, the adoption ofwhich might have prevented the miferies that have fince intervened. May God avert fimilar con- fequences from (imilar conducl this night ! *' If the honorable gentleman can continue to perfuade this houfe againft the revifion of his condu(5l, Ido not wonder thathcll.ould have feized the opportunity (aflorded to him by an incident not too common in his hiftory) of refigning the government into the hands of his friends. The honorable gentleman near him (Mr. Dundas), after telling the houfe an entertaining flory of Charles the Second, fneers at us, and fays he has not heard of any prayers offered up for our fucceeding to their places. — Has the honorable gentleman heard ot any prayers offered up for their return to them ; or, in any part of the kingdom has there been a regret expreffed at their retreat ? Perhaps it would be nearer the truth to fay, that no joy was more general, till that feeling was damped by the fufpicion, that the change of miniftry was, in reality, no change 59 at ail. But the lionorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) has taken infinite pains to contradid this notion, and laboured very aniduoufly to prove that it was, in good footh, a true change, and no jug- gle. * Is office,' he afks, ' a thing, that people are generally eager to lay down?' Undoubtedly, in thac refpe(ifr> nothing is more eafv than to af- certain the honorable gentleman's dirpc>(itIon, materials for deciding it being amply afforded by his hiftory; arid it the world really thinks, that he has relinquilhed the government merely becaufe he found im})edimenrs to a wife and honed meafure, then the honorable gentleman has the full ctTecl of his characfler. It, however, is indifputable, that no politician in England, up to this period, has difcovered lefs alacrity in parting with his place. " Still more, to prove that the recent change is no impofture, he fcems to lament that, being To near the end of his labours, he Ihould be forced to yi'-ld to circun:ifl:anccs, and not be himfelf t^^.e perfon to terminate this glorious career 3 — he grieves at not being in at the deaths as it were. Now, fir, what fingle obje6t of the war the ho- norable gentleman has gained, or (except in his departure from oflice) what reafon he has for concluding that this contell is near its clofe, he leaves us in utter ignorance. *' Whence does he draw his conclufion ? Are the point.-, for which this government contended more likelv to be attained at prefent than thev were at Paris or at Lille ? Are you n^rc likely to get the relloration ot the Low Countries, jvliich you [o judicioufly matle a Jim qua non uf 60 the former negotiation, at this time than at thatf' Or, putting that matter quite out of figlil, fire you nearer to any other national purfuit now than then i-' Axe yoH ftronger ? Is France weaker? What is it, I afk, that feeds the honorable gentleman's fancy into a notion that the end of this war is fo near at hand ? **Asto the late change of his majcfiy's fervants, it is impolliblc for me to fay whether it is a jug- gle or not ; but, confidering the genius of the honorable gentleman's contrivances, 1 can fee iiianv things in fuch a fchemiC which would make it not unfuitable for him^ to hazard fuch a thing as an experiment. Blinded he would be, and under hopelefs infatuation, not to feel the total impoihbility of his ever reaching that goal at which he cafts fuch a lingering look. I do not exactly charge him with avowed duplicity in conducting the different treaties which he opened with the enemy — but tliat he was grateful, even to piety, for the mifcarriage of them all, is not to he denied. When, then, was he to be fuccefs- ful or fincere, who never negotiated without failing, and never failed without rejoicing ? Not one lingle ftep could he take towards pacifica- tion, without tumbling upon fomething that muft fuggeft to him his own humiliation, and without prompting the enemy with perpetual miftruft. Well, therefore, may the honorable gentleman pour forth his panegyrics upon his fucccffors, who take this tafk (fo ignominious for him and his colleagues) off his hands, and who, at the fame time, proclaim their devotion to the principles of his adminiftration. 'There is na inyftery/ he affures us, * in his rcfignation : why 61 ffiould it excite fufpicion r — Ts it neceflary for a minirter, quitting his office, to ftate the reafons, or complain of the caufes, that led to it ? Thefe appeals have been made,' he tells us, ' by re- tired or difcarded minifters, and often refortcd to as a means of reinftatement.' — In the judgment of fome men, a (train of fycophancy may be as efficacious a method. " I know not whether all the reafons given by the honorable gentleman can fatisfy the pub- lic, that the late change has been what he fo (Irenuoufly contends it was ; but of this I am quite fure, that to that public it is of very little confequence ; for although the perfons recently put into the offices of government can, with fomewhat of !efs difgrace than their predeceflbrs, propitiate the government of France, yet it ap- pears to me an extravagant ilretch of hope, that they, who are only known to the world as the followers, and who protefs themfelves the pupils of the late government, can ever rellore tins em- pire to tranquillity and fafety — to peace abroad and to concord at home. " With regard to this inquiry, the honorable gentleman fays, that it has been the cuftom of this houfe to refufe fuch committees, unlefs in very extraordinary emergencies. Now, fir, though we have, in my opinion, made out an impregnable * cafe of emergencies,' not only * extraordinary,' but wholly unprecedented; yet I affirm, in direct co!;tradittijn to the honorable gentleman, that the cufVom of this houfe has been the diametrical reverfe of what he Itates it. The cullom of this houfe has been, not to refufe^ but 62 \o grant, Tiich comnnttecs. To grant them hag been the rule, to refufe them the exception, until the blelfings of that honorable genrieinan's adminillration had been inflittcd upon this land. He is the only minifter that ever lived in this country — he is the finsjle man who made the denial of fuch committees his invariable maxim. You will find, upon your journals, a feries of proofs in fupport of my affcrtion ; and nothing jn favour of the honorable gentleman, but fome folitary infiance that goes to eftabliOi the generality of the practice, inftead of mak- ing againft it. So fettled has been this point, as a matter very much of courfe, in national difficulties, that the adoption of their propo- (itions, to whom fuch committees are granted, is by no means a neceffary confequence. I fay this to quiet the alarms of any members who may be feared for the honorable gentleman's fafety. It is perfe^Hy competent for gentlemen to lay to their fouls the flattering unftion of fupporting my honorable friend's motion, and afterwards rejecting his mcafures, as refulting from the inquiry. " I have frequently obtained from this houfe, committees on the ftate of the nation, and the meafures 1 propofed in thofe committees have been repeatedly negatived. Both thefe things happened to me, and to this houfe, in the years 1778 and 1780. Nay, fometimes the houfe, as in the year 1740, has voted committees on the ftate of the naiion, without taking any Hep what- ever after. 1 have faid more than enough, I think, to fiiow that our motion rcfts upon the 63 bed practice * of this houfe, and is bottomed upon precedent in its utmoft Itriitnefs ; even if we had not eftablifiied, as I contend we have, a national exigence ot fafficient magnitude to create a precedent. " Now, fir, having advanced all that I think neceffary to urge in fupport of my honorable friend's motion, I ihall beg leave to fay a fingle word upon a top c that has been feveral times alluded to in this debate, namely, my perfonal attendance in this houfe. ** It is not for me to anticipate the determi- nation of this houfe upon this night ; and if I flnil fee any reafonable grounds for thinking, that my regular appearance here can be reallv beneficial lo the public, the public \ha.\\ have that benefit: — but if it is demon flrable, after the feas of blood that have been flicd, and the hun- dreds of millions wafted j — after fuch facrificeof treafure and of reputation, — after the failure of all the profcfTcd objc6ls of this war, and after bringing immeafurable woes upon the country in confeqjcnce of it — alter a furies of military enterprifes th.at excited the contempr, and, fomc of them, the horror of Europe — after the lofs of all, and the ruin of many of our allies — after feeing the enemy aggraudifed beyond all exam- ple, by the very cfiort^ made to abafe him— after having abufed the matchlefs glories of our navy, from the true end of all jiifliliahie warfare, a fate and honorable peace — alter feeing the ninth * Mr. Addington, the nrw miiiiftcr and l.itc fpcnkcr, in his fpff.ch, admitted the general couri'e of pradlicc to be a* Mr. Ijx Ibicil it. 64 year of this direful conteft advance us (u little to- wards its clofe, that vvc foe a bolt of new ene- mies commencing a new war, pregnant with mifchief whether we are vidtorious or vanquifli- ed — after all the infringements that have been made upon the Knglilh conftitution, and our bitter experience, that increafmg the caufe is not the true remedy for difcontent — after all that we have fecn in Ireland, and all that we feel in England — if all thefe things go for nothing, and that the divifion of this night fliould manifeft the fame determined confidence of this houfe in the executive government, and in that fyftem which has produced al! thefe effetVs, whether admini- ftered by its firfl: leaders, or by their followers raifcd from fccondary into fuperior offices — if that, fir, (hould he the obvious inference and fair conclufion from the votes of this night — then, fenfible of tlie perfeft inutility of my exer- tions in this place, I thould certainly feel myfelf juftified in exerciiing my own difcretion, as to the degree of regularity with which 1 Ihould at- tend this houfe. " How this houfe feels I know not : how it will a6l we ihall Ihortly fee. It is for the houfe to refolve how it lliall befl: difcharge its duty ; I am quite fatisfi(?d that 1 have difcharged mine. " Thofe who think that v/hat I have ftated are not evils, or arifing from any defect of wif- dom, of vigour, of torcfight, of prudence ; or of any of the qualities that conftitute the effentials to an able and capable government; but that they arc only ilij)s of conduct; mere flaws of accident, al^ording no prefumplion againft the 65 . king's minifters, whom this houfe is conftituted not to control or call to account, but to fupport and juftify upon all occafions — fuchperfons will, of courfe, vote againft this inquiry. On the other hand, thofe who think that the misfortunes brought upon the country by the late minifters are the necefiary confequcncr" of original folly in the fchemes, and of imbccillity in the execution ; who think that the primary duty of this houfe is to guard the rights and protefl the interefts of the people, — not to fawn upon power, and be guided in all thin^^^s by thofe whom the king nominates as his fervants; who are of opii^ion that the dreadful ftate in which the country finds itfelt is not more owing to the mifconduct of ad- miniftration than to the abfence from this houfe of that conftitutional jealoufy of the influence of the crown which ought to be the firfi: charac- teriftic of a houfe of commons, and from its uni- form difcountenance of all retrofpe(5lion and re- vifion — Thofe who think that the vice of the plans and principles that have brought the coun- try to its prefent fituation, is cruelly aggravated by that boundlefs confidence which this houfe has uniformly fhown ; and which, inftead of de- terring from evil or doubtful proje6ts by the fear of punifliment, operates as an encouragement to dangerous fpeculation, by the affurance of in- demnity and fafety — Thofe who think that this qucftion ought not to depend uport regard to the late or to the prefent adminillration, to predi- lections or antipathies for that fide of the houfe or this, but folely on the \r\XQ Jlate of the nntion—^ Thofe who think that the rciern of confidence has had full play — that ihc principle has been fairly tried and found wanting — who fee, in its F 66 fad effects, that it is not more unconflitutional than impolitic — and who firmly believe, as I be- lieve, that the fliortefl: and fureft method of re- deeming the country in the prefent crifis, is tor this houfe to refort to the good old cuftoms of our anceflors — to refume in the vvorfl: the jealous vigilance of the beft times — to prove to both king and people, that blind fubmiOion muft give way to zealous inquifition — and to manifeft that the fupport of government muft be accom- panied by inquiry into its condudl. Thofe who think thus, willvote, as I fhall, for the motion of my honorable friend." After Mr. Fox fat down, the new minifter, Mr. Addington, made a ftiort fpeech ; and the houfe was fo convinced and fatisfied, that they decided againft the inquiry, by 291 againft 105. FINIS. APPENDIX. (N° I.) Treaty of Commerce with Russia in 1766. lOth Article. — *' Permlflion to the fubje<5ls of the two powers, to go, come, and trade freely with thofe dates, with which one or other of the parties {hall then, or at any future period, be at war; pro- vided they do not carry military ftores to the enemy. From this permifllon, places adually blocked up or befiegcd are alone excepted ; and, with the fingle exception of military ftores, all forts of commodities may, ivlthout the leajl Impediment^ be tranfportcd to the enemies of citlicr power," &c. &c. nth Article — Recapitulates " The military flores whicli arc excepted in the loth Article. Thcfe confift of twenty-one different forts, all which are declared contraband, and not one of which is a naval Jlorc cr material of any kind whatever.** F a 68 Treaty between Great Britain and Holland in 1674. ift Article — Secures " the mutual riglit of both powers to trade freely with each other'' s enemies ;" — and fotne doubt appearing as to the extent of this right, an explanatory declaration is agreed upon in about a year after ; negociated and figned by Sir William Temple and eight Dutch commif- fioners, bearing date, at the Hague, the 30th of December, 1675 ; viz, *' We do by thefe prefents declare, that the true intent and meaning of the faid articles is, and ought to be, that ihips and veflels belonging to the fubjeils of either of the parties, can and might, not only pafs, traffic, and trade from a neutral port or place, to a place in enmity wit?i the other party, or from a place in enmity to a neutral place, but alfo from a port or place In enmity to a port or place in enmity with the other party, whether the faid places belong to one and the fame prince or flate, or to feveral princes or ftates, with whom the other party is in war." (The right of trading to neutrals and enemies being guarantied by the ift an