and energy of the laws," an allusion was intended to be made to two extraordinary bills which had been passed in the last session of the last parliament, he believed the allusion would be, indeed, unfounded; it was tranquillity, in his opinion, not at all to be attributed to such a cause; he was convinced it was quite the contrary: those bills were held in abhorrence by the people, but who, at the same time, held in the highest respect the wisdom and energy of the known constitutional common law of the land. The noble earl then said, that, conceiving a peace to be the greatest blessing this country could at present wish, he had readily and cordially come forward in support of the present address; but he begged their lordships would understand, that, by so doing, he did not mean to preclude himself from the right he had to enquire, at any future period, into the causes which had been the original occasion of the present calamitous contest, and the conduct of those who had been the means of plunging us into it. These were the subjects of the first magnitude, and would hereafter demand the strictest and most minute investigation; and, having thus made these observations and reservations, he would no longer trespass on the time of the house, but immediately conclude, by giving his hearty concurrence to the motion for the address.

Lord Grenville forbore to enter at large into any argument on all the points on which the earl of Guildford had expressed a difference of opinion; on two only he would make a very few observations. Alluding to what had fallen from his lordship concerning that part of the speech

from the throne, which ascribed the internal tranquillity of the kingdom to "the wisdom and energy of the laws," he said, that, partial or conditional agreement was a tribute which he was as little accustomed as desirous to receive from any man; yet certainly every person was at liberty to indulge and express his own opinion. For his own part, he was clearly of opinion, that the bills, passed last session, had contributed very greatly to repress the spirit of anarchy, and had, therefore, tended highly towards the preservation of the public and internal tranquillity. He retained all the opinions he had formerly entertained on the subject, and experience had only served to confirm their propriety and justice. As for the threatened inquiry into the causes of the war, and the conduct of these who had the management of it, he, for one, was ready to meet the trial, and to take his full share of responsibility for all its consequences.

A noble earl had stated it as inconsistent with the principles on which the war was undertaken, to treat with any other government in France than a monarchy. That the existence of a republic in France was an insufferable bar to negociation, and that monarchy was indispensible, was a calumny which his majesty's ministers had every season found it necessary to contradict. They had expressed, what they still believed, that the best issue to the contest would be, the re-establishment of monarchy in France, yet they had never pledged themselves, much less the parliament, to an opinion so wild and extravagant, as that, without the attainment of this object, there was no hope or possibility of peace. It was some

what

what strange, in the noble earl, to infer, from the opening of a negociation, that the worst terms would be concluded. He saw nothing in the state of this country that should lead us to embrace any other than just, honourable, and safe, conditions of peace.

The earl of Abingdon spoke against the address, particularly against what referred to the two odious bills, passed in the last session of parliament. The people of England possessed rights which were not derived either from king, lords, or commons; and which neither king, lords, nor commons, could take

away.

The earl Fitzwilliam said, that though he never had asserted that ministers made the restoration of monarchy in France, a sine qua non towards making peace, yet he thought, that, while they encouraged and engaged those, from whose efforts the restoration of monarchy was to be expected; this was, in fact, implied, as the wish, intention, and object, of the British councils.

Lord Grenville asserted, again, that ministry had never said that the formation of any government in France would preclude them from negociating for peace, when an opportunity occurred that they thought would be favourable to the interests of this country.

The motion for the address then

passed in the affirmative.

A protest against this vote was entered in the journals, by the earl Fitzwilliam; to which, as it breathes the genuine spirit first rouzed, and, perhaps, still actuated to a greater extent than was acknowledged by the British government, we have given a place among the State Papers in vol. xxxvii.

The address to his majesty was moved, in the house of commons, by the lord viscount Morpeth. His lordship, after apologizing for his inexperience in public speaking, and expressing his hope that he should experience the indulgence of the house on the present occasion, said, that he considered it as incumbent on those, who had the honour of a seat in that houte, to come forward, as soon as possible, to give their opinions on public affairs. He trusted that the sentiments avowed in his majesty's speech would tend to reconcile that variety and opposition of sentiment which had hitherto subsisted; for, whatever opinions might be entertained respecting the origin of the war, and the manner in which it had been conducted, it must give them satisfaction to concur in a motion that had for its object an honourable peace. Those who thought that this war was just and necessary in its commencement, and unavoidable in its continuance, must rejoice that the period was arrived in which there existed a French government of such stability and permanence that might be treated with safely. He hoped, at the same time, that we should not neglect to employ our resources in such manner as to shew, that, while we are desirous of peace, we are nevertheless in a condition to continue the contest. He proceeded to justify the speech from the throne in all its positions: the flourishing state of our trade and commerce, the valour of our fleets and armies, our dominions at sea, the bravery of our Austrian allies, the wise and heroic conduct of the archduke Charles, and our internal tranquillity. His lordship concluded his speech with a motion for an ad

dress

dress to his majesty, for his most gracious speech from the throne. The addresscorresponded, as usual, to the speech, which it intirely approved. This motion was seconded by sir W. Lowther, who was unwilling to trespass on the time and attention of the house, by going over the same grounds that had been so ably discussed by lord Morpeth. He would only say a word or two on one point: the internal situation of this country. If the persons now exercising the powers of government in France were seriously inclined for peace, he was fully persuaded that it would be obtained. But no time, he observed, was more cordial than that period which had preceded the negociation. He begged the house to consider that nothing could impede the attainment of peace so much as their own internal dissensions; he trusted, therefore, that there would be none. He would no longer detain the house, but give his voice to second the motion for the address. This being read by the speaker,

Mr. Fox rose up, and said, that if he were to give a silent vote to the motion which had just been made, his conduct might be subject to misconstruction." The striking feature of his majesty's speech, said Mr. Fox, is, that his majesty has at length been advised to do what it has fallen to my lot to advise his majesty's ministers to do repeatedly for the last three years; namely, to open a negociation for peace. Of that striking feature I most cordially and highly approve. I cannot for gct how often I have advised this measure, nor how often, without success, I have pressed it upon ministers. But, however I may lament that the advice was not taken,

before a hundred millions of money was spent, and thousands of lives devoted to the cruel contest, yet now that it has been followed, it must draw from me, mywarmest approbation. He who thought that the war was originally unnecessary, and that every moment since its commencement was a proper moment for commencing a negociation for peace, cannot object to the measure which his majesty has announced, that he has been advised to take in the present moment.

I will not say one word about the particular and the fit time for such a measure, all times appearing to me to be equally wise and salutary for endeavouring to restore to the people the blessings of peace. Nor will I recollect, much less retaliate, the personal invectives that were thrown against myself; that an attempt to negociate with such a people was to lay his majesty's crown at their feet, and that it was a degradation of the honour and digni ty of Great Britain; that to propose to open a negociation was in fact to sue for peace, and such conduct was neither dignified nor political. Such was the language of the last parliament, and such was the animadversion made on the advice which I then gave. I will content myself with repeating what I then said, that "to propose a negociation is not to sue for peace." It is at every moment dignified and proper to strive to restore the blessings of peace; and it is certainly one thing, to propose a negociation in which terms are to be fairly and manfully discus ed; and another, to sue to your enemy for peace. He who objects to this distinction is uot animated by that feeling which ought ever to be uppermost in the

mind of a statesman; an anxious desire of shortening the calamity of war, and of paving the way, by every practicable means, to that desirable end. He ought ever, therefore, to make it manifest in his conduct, that no career of conquest, and no reverse of fortune can divert him from that single object-a negociation for peace, in preference to any other object. I repeat, therefore, that I most perfectly and entirely approve of the present measure, and shall not now mix my assent to that part of the address with any observation on the tardy and protracted manner in which it has been at length resolved upon. And thus approving of the principal feature of the address, I am extremely unwilling to oppose any other part of it, and wish that it had been so worded as to have engaged the perfect unanimity of the whole house. There are some expressions, however, of which I must take notice, and I shall doso rather with the intention of explaining the vote which I shall give, than of moving any resolutions upon them. And first, in the very pen ing of the speech, there is an pression that his majesty has "used every endeavour to open a negociation;" now, unless by these words, "every endeavour," it is meant to say that every endeavour has been used since the close of the last parJiament, we ought not to agree to the expression; for undoubtedly ministers cannot expect that gentlemen who, like myself, objected so frequently to their refusal to exert any effort at all, should now acquiesce in any assertion, that they had used every endeavour to bring about a negociation. Unless, therefore, it is meant to allude to the endeavours which his majesty has

ex

made since the close of the last parliament, endeavours which I am ready to take upon trust, 1 désire that it may be clearly understood that I am not to be precluded, by my vote this night, from animadverting upon his majesty's ministers, for their former want of endeavours to bring about a negociation for peace. There is much that deserves praise in the construction of the present speech. Ministers have omitted the words to which they have been so bigotted heretofore, of the war having been undertaken for "the cause of religion, humanity and social order," wordscalculatedonlytoinflame and to exasperate the two nations against each other, and to set the probability of peace at a greater distance; neither have they come forward with their constant and unfounded phrase, that the war was neces sary." They have acted wisely in thus abstaining from intemperate language; for surely, at a time when they were about to negociate for a peace, it would have been peculiarly ill-judged and unseasonable to have made use of language repulsive and bitter to the people with whom you had to treat; nor would it have been wise to introduce words calculated to prevent unanimity in this house, upon the course which his majesty has been slowly advised to pursue; for, about the necessity of the war, and all the jargon of epithets that have been applied to it, there must always continue to be a fundamental difference of opinion.

There are other parts of the speech, which, perhaps, demand a little explanation, and which, if we pass over for the time, it is to be understood, that I am left at full liberty to inquire and to question the assertions hereafter. Such is the declaration