ceived at the request of the inhabitants, who had desired to be taken under the protection of his Britannic majesty. Mr. Fox concluded his speech with moving, as an amendment to the address, that, after the words "returning his majesty thanks for his gracious message," there be inserted the following: "That this house has learnt, with inexpressible concern, that the negociation, his majesty lately commenced, for the restoration of peace, has been unhappily frustrated. "In so awful and momentous a crisis, the house of commons feel it their duty to speak to his majesty, with that freedom and earnestness which becomes men anxious to preserve the honour of his majesty's crown, and to secure the interests of his people. That, in doing this, they sincerely deplore, that they are under the necessity of declaring, that, as well from the manner in which the late negociation has been conducted, as from the substance of the memorial, which appears to have produced the abrupt termination of it, they have reason to think his majesty's ministers were not sin cere in their endeavours to procure the blessings of peace, so necessary for this distressed country; and that all prospect of pacification seems intirely removed from their view; for, on the one hand, his majesty's ministers insist upon the restoration of the Netherlands to the emperor, as a sine qua non, from which they have pledged his majesty not to recede; while, on the other, the executive directory of the French republic, with equal pertinacity, claim the preservation of that part of their conquest, as a condition from which they cannot depart. That, under these circumstan ces, this house cannot help lamenting the rashness and injustice of his majesty's ministers; whose longcontinued misconduct has produced this embarrassing situation, by advising his majesty, before the blessing of peace had been unfortunately interrupted, to refuse all negociation for the adjustment of the then subsisting differences, although, at that time, the Netherlands, now the main obstacle to the return of tranquillity, so far from being considered as an object of contest, was solemnly renounced, and the peace of Europe offered into his majesty's hands, upon the basis of that renunciation, and upon the security and independence of Holland, whilst she preserved her neutrality towards France. "That this house has farther deeply to regret that, soon after the commencement of the war, when, by the vigour of his majesty's arms, with the assistance of those of his allies, the republic of Holland had been rescued from invasion, and the greatest part of the Netherlands had been recovered by the emperor; at a time, too, when most of the princes of Europe, with resources yet unexhausted, continued firm in their alliance with Great Britain, his majesty's ministers did not avail themselves of this high and commanding position, for the negociation of an honourable peace, and the establishment of the political balance of Europe; that, on the contrary, without auy example in the principles and practices of this or any other nation, it is with pain this house recollects, his majesty's minister refused to set on foot any negociation whatsoever with the French republic, not upon a real or even alleged unwillingness on his part part to listen to the propositions now rejected by her, or to any other specific proposal of indemnity or political security, but upon the arrogant and insulting pretence, that her government was not capable of maintaining the accustomed relations of peaceand amityamongst nations, and that, on this unfounded and merely speculative assumption, his majesty was advised to continue the war to a period when the difficulties in the way of peace have been so much increased, by the defect of most of the powers engaged in the confederacy, and by the conquests and consequent pretensions of the French republic. "That this house, having thus humbly submitted to his majesty the reflections which his majesty's gracious communication immediately suggests, feel themselves in duty bound, for the information of his majesty, and the satisfaction of an exhausted people, to proceed with unremitting diligence, to investigate the causes which have produced our present calamities, and to offer such advice as the critical and alarming circumstances of the nation may require." Mr. Dundas, at the same time that he charged Mr. Fox with availing himself of his situation, as a member of that house, to plead the cause of the enemy, yet allowed that his amendment was unequivocal, fair, and open. He called upon the members to make a declaration, that they believed the ministry to have been insincere in the late negociation for peace. Upon that issue he, for his own part, would call on the members, as honest men, to give their opinion, whether they thought that ministers had omitted any measures that might have procured peace with the country. He agreed that the expence of the war was great, but considered our success as equal to it. The emperor's and our situation were thrown into a common stock. We were willing to relinquish our acquisitions from the French, to procure for his Imperial majesty the restoration of the territories he had lost. With respect to the possessions of Holland, in our hands, which were particularly connected with his share in the administration, and of the vast importance of which he had spoken on former occasions, it was his wish to keep both the Cape and Ceylon, but never his design to take from the Dutch their trade to the Cape; which was all that they were now capable of holding with advantage to themselves; for as to the actual possession of the place, they were too weak to keep it. He appealed to the old French monarchy, for the truth of the assertion, that one acre of land in the Austrian Netherlands, is equal in value to a whole province of France. And this he did, that the house might see how necessary it was for his majesty to demand, as a condition of peace, that they should be restored to France. Facts would best shew which party had been wanting in a real desire to promote peace. Did the French, in any period, come forward to negociate, and were refused by us? If this had been the case, the backwardness of ministers to pacification must have been admitted; but the contrary was the truth: we had regularly used every means, from the note of Mr. Wickham, at Basie, to the late mission of lo-1 Malmesbury, to bring about so desirable an event, without success. Mr. in a few weeks after, converted, by the stoppage of bank-payment in specio (already hinted at, and by and by to be particularly noticed), into a painful anxiety and many despondent forebodings of national bankruptcy and individual ruin. Mr. Grey said, that the fundamental evil, from whence all our misfortunes flowed, was, that peace never had been the real object of those who carried on the war. They went upon a system of extermination, which so irritated our enemies that there was danger of our never having peace. Having taken a re- The earl of Oxford was not view of lord Malmesbury's letter deterred, by this defeat of the to lord Grenville, he contended opposition, on the question of that M. de la Croix's proposition peace, and the means and condiof offering an equivalent to the tions of obtaining it, from making emperor, for the Netherlands, in a second attempt for the same end, the secularization of the three ec- trusting that a material change must clesiastical electorates, and several have been produced in the mind bishopricks in Germany and Italy, of parliament by the general alarm, might be considered as an offer of still waxing greater and greater, in terms of peace, or contre projet, and all parts of the country. His lordought to have been attended to.. ship, on the twenty-third of March, However we might wishfortheresto- called the attention of the house of ration of the Netherlands to the em- lords to a motion, of which he had peror, they were not to be regained given notice some time before, on by force. He considered the propo- this subject. Peace, he said, was sition, in the late negociation, of re- demanded by the voice of the countainingthemostimportantpossessions try and he was persuaded, that of our former ally, Holland, asamost it might be obtained if sought with pro fligatetraitinthelatenegociation. a sincere and honest intention. The The offer of restoring Martinico and Pondicherry only, (for St Lucia and Tobago were to be kept as an equivalent for our supposed claims on St. Domingo) for allthe conquests made by France on the emperor, was a most extravagant proposition. On a division of the house, Mr. Fox's amendment was rejected by 21 against 37. The original address was, of course, carried by an equal majority. The general solicitude for peace, which prevailed at this time, being, The extracts quoted were these: government and people of France, he was convinced, were not less disposed than ourselves to enter into an amicable negociation. He then read some extracts from the correspondence between Mr. Wickham and M. Barthelemi; and the register of the decrees of the executive directory, which lay upon their lordships table; upon which he grounded his opinion, that the French directory are inclined to make peace. *His conclusion from th ewhole was, that the directory was In the Note (No. 2.) transmitted to Mr. Wickham, by M. Barthelemi, there is this passage: "The directory ardently desire to procure, for the French republic, a just and honourable peace. The step taken by Mr. Wickham would have afforded to the directory a real satisfaction, if the declaration itself, which that minister makes, of his not having any was disposed to peace, but that it was determined to keep the Rhine for the boundary of France." And, my lords, he added, it has power to do it, and you have not the power to prevent it. You must, therefore, either make peace upon these terms, or persist in the war, which is certain ruin. I therefore move your lordships, "That a humble address be presented to his majesty, humbly to represent to his majesty, that, in the present most critical and alarming situation of the country, this house holds it to be its bounden duty to apprise his majesty of his own danger, and the ruin and confusion which threaten the whole nation. That the shock, which has been lately given to public credit, must, from the peculiar nature of our commercial system, deprive us of those means whereby we were enabled to hold so high a rank among the nations of the world, unless the country is speedily relieved from its present enormous expenditure, and its future prosperity insured, by an immediate, sincere, and lasting peace. "That this house begs leave, humbly to represent to his majesty, that upon a considerate and impartial review of the whole of the late negociation, this house sees, with concern, that that negociation was broken off by the conduct and d mand of his majesty's ministers, and not by a want of disposition for peace on the part of France. "That in answer to the impolitic note, delivered by Mr. Wickham, any order, any power, to negociate, did not give room to doubt of the sincerity of the pacific intentions of his court In fact, if it was true, that England began to know her real interest; that she wished to open again, for herself, the sources of abundance and prosperity; if she sought for peace with good faith, would she propose a congress, of which the necessary result must be to render all negociation endless? or, would she confine herself to the asking, in a vague manner, that the French government should point out any other way whatever, for attaining the same object-that of a general pacification? Again, my lords, (No. 7.) extract from the register of the decrees of the executive directory: "The executive directory, upon consideration of the Note, addressed to the minister for foreign affairs, by lord Grenville, dated Westminster, September 24, 1796, wishing to give a proof of the desire which it entertains to make peace with EngJand, decrees as follows: The minister for foreign affairs is charged to deliver the necessary passports to the enve of England, who shall be furnished with full powers, not only for preparing and negociating the peace between the French republic and that power, but for concluding It definitively between them.” And, again, my lords, No. 15.) "The executive directory sees, with pain, that, at the moment when it had reason to hope for the speedy return of peace, between the French republic and his Britannic majesty, the proposal of lord Malmesbury offers nothing but dilatory or very distant means of bringing the negociation to a conclusion. "Nevertheless the executive directory, animated with an ardent desire of putting a stop to the scourge of war, and to prove that they will not reject any meas of reconciliation, declare, that as soon as lord Malmesbury shall cxibit to the minister for foreign affairs, sufficient powers, from the allies of Great Britain, fer supuling for their respective interests, accompanied by a promise, on their part, to subscribe to whatever shall be concluded in their names, will hasten to give an answer to the spec fic pio positions which shall be submitted to them, and that the difficulties shall be removed, as far as may be consistent with the safety and dignity of the French republic." VOL. XXXIX. [M] the the executive directory declare, that, yielding to the ardent desire by which it is animated to procure peace for the French republic, and for all nations, it will not fear to declare itself openly. Charged by the constitution with the execution of the laws, it cannot make, or listen to any proposals that would be contrary to them. The constitutional act does not permit it to consent to any alienation of that, which, according to the existing laws, oonstitutes the territory of the republic. "That it is impossible his majesty's ministers could have misunderstood this declaration; for in the note, signed Downing-street, there are these words: To a demand such as this is added an expressed declaration, that no proposal contrary to it will be made, or even listened to.' "That six months after this his majesty's ministers again made an overture of peace, but in so ungracious a manner that doubts might have been reasonably entertained of their sincerity; and after a variety of trifling disputes, unworthy a great nation, when the happiness of miltions were depending, his majesty's ministers demanded, and made, as their sine qua non, those very terms, which, before they began their negociation, they knew would not be made, or even listened to. "That under all these circumstances, this house humbly, and most earnestly entreats his majesty to enter into an immediate nego ciation, upon such terms as France is likely to listen and accede to, and in such manner and through the medium of such men, as shall leave no room to doubt the pacific ixtentions of his majesty.. "And this house begs leave humbly to assure his majesty, that it entertains no doubt of the success of such a negociation, and that it feels confident, that after his majesty shall have been graciously pleased to restore to his people the blessing of peace, such retrenchments, and wise regulations may be adopted, by the legislature, as will relieve the people from their burdens, remove every cause of complaint, of their being unequally represented; restore to them their ancient, venerable, and free. constitution; and thereby re-establish public spirit, and public confidence; and insure to his majesty the affections of his subjects, the glory, prosperity, and happiness of his future reign." The question being put, lord Grenville observed that it was quite unnecessary to reply, in detail, to the extraordinary string of propositions which their lordships had just heard. He moved that the address of the thirtieth of December last might be read, which contained sufficient arguments against that part of the motion suggested by his lordship, and from which it would be seen, that so far from the negociation being terminated by this country, it had been abruptly and insolently broken off by the French republic.-That address being read, the duke of Norfolk said, that he wished that the present address might go to the throne, as, without the adoption of such a motion, there was little probability of obtaining peace. The secretary of state had grounded his opposition to the motion of their lordships on its inconsistency with the address of December last. But, was there any thing to prevenr a grave assem bly from reconsidering its former re solutions ; |