there was no neceffity to destroy the French government, in order to fecrure the continuance of the English; the fuperiority of which was too well established in the minds of the people here, to need fo harsh and unjustifiable a method of confirming it. Peace was therefore preferable to the continuance of a war that only tended to perpetuate a spirit of enmity, which was certainly both impolitic in itself, and injurious to both nations; as a pacification must of neceffity take place at last, unless we both were refolved on mutual extermination, and as the calamities we brought on each other became daily more difficult to be remedied. To perfift in a conteft, in which we had been fo unfuccefsful, was not fortitude but obftinacy. It was thus we had loft America, and might now plunge ourselves into difficulties and misfortunes of a much more tremendous nature. It had been afked, whether the atrocities, of which the French had been guilty, ought to remain unpunished? But what right had we to aflume the task of avengers? This should be left to the difcretion of heaven. But, were we to succeed in re-establishing Lewis XVII. on the defpotic throne of his anceftors, would he make this country any compenfation for the blood it had shed, and the treasures it bad expended, in his cause? Would his fubjects permit it? Would our allies confent to it? The French were accused of atheifm: this, doubtless, was an enormity, as well as a foily, of a most deplorable nature. But was it curable by war and destruction? Chriftianity stood on better foun dations than force and violence, and needed no fuch support to triumph over its enemies. The bishop was eagerly oppofed by lord Hawkesbury, who recurred to those various arguments in favour of the minifterial meafures, which had been so repeatedly urged. The marquis of Lansdowne was equally vehement against them. He dwelt principally on the lofs of Holland, as an effential diminution of strength to the coalition, and an unanswerable motive for immediate peace. The revolutionary governments that had arifen, in confequence of the surprising events produced by the present conteft, instead of preventing a pacificatiou, ought, he afferted, to incline us to it, for the most obvious of all reafons, left we should be affected by the storms that had wrought such unexpected alterations among our neighbours. We had treated with our revolted fubjects in America; why should we refufe to negotiate with the French, who were neither our subjects, nor the first to provoke us to a conteft? The earl of Hardwick, lord Hawke, and earl Spencer, fupported the ministerial motion; lord Mulgrave seconded them, observing, that though defeated, the coalition was too formidable a body to be confidered without terror, even by the victors, and while acting firmly together, had every thing to hope. We were masters of the West Indies, that immense repofitory of trade and riches, and our fleets were universally victorious; but if we offered to treat of peace with the French, they would claim a furrender of all the advantages we had obtained in that quarter of the globe, and would quickly take occasion to turn them against us. The debate continued with great warmth, and a multiplicity of arguments was brought forward by the refpective contendants, of much the fame description as the many so often reiterated. It closed at length with a majority of eighty-eight in favour of miniftry, against a minority of no more than fifteen. ambitious motive of aggrandizing the republic, or in order to propagate their principles, the French should refuse equitable conditions, the house would give a vigorous support to the war. He was feconded, and oppofed, in the usual style of arguing upon this fubject; and the previous question being moved, by lord Hawkesbury, was carried by a majority of fixty-three: a protest, however, was figned, against the ministerial meatures, hy the duke of Bedford, and the earls of Guildford and Lauderdale. Oppofition, though discomfited, fill returned to the charge: Mr. Gray moved, in the lower house, on the 6th of February, that it was incumbent on government to remove every impediment that stood in the way of peace between Great Britain and France; and that without acknowledging fome competent power to treat with in that country, the war muft necessarily last till one of the two nations was subdued or exterminated by the other: he pro-it so obvious, that fuch an inquiry poled, therefore, that the house should, for the purpose of avoiding to dreadful an extremity, formally declare itself of opinion, that the government now established in France was competent to negotiate and conclude a peace with the government of this country. He made a copious and animated fpeech on this occafion, and was vigorously seconded by the principal Ipeakers in the opposition; and no lels warmly oppofed by the adherents to ministry. The previous question being moved, by Mr. Dundas, was carried in the affirmative, by one hundred and ninety, against fixty-nine. In the house of lords, the duke of Bedford moved, on the 12th of February, that the government of France was no obstruction to a treaty; but that if, through the 9 These reiterated defeats of all the endeavours to induce minifters to turn their thoughts to peace, induced Mr. Fox to make a motion, on the 24th of March, that a committee of the whole house should take into confideration the state of the kingdom. The cafe was fo important, the dangers threatening ought not to be delayed. He had, in consequence of our defeat at Saratoga, during the American war, made a fimilar motion, and it had been acceded to; though our fituation at that time was far from being fo perilous as at present. An idea pervaded the mass of the people, that the commons could not fairly be reputed the representatives of the nation, from their undeviating compliance with every meafure proposed by ministry, notwithstanding the ill fuccess with which they had conducted the war. The obstinacy they constantly displayed, in refifting every motion for peace, required the stricteft investigation; what could be the motives for fo extraordinary a confidence in men who were continually unfortunate ? While minifters were able to fet themselves, in this unprecedented manner, manner, above all inquiry, they were in fact above responsibility; and those who complained that the constitution was on the decline, and that a system of despotism had taken place in this country, could not be refuted. Men that dreaded Inquiries into their conduct, afforded the clearest presumption that it would not bear examination; and the high hand with which they kept it at a distance shewed, at the same time, that the fpirit of that constitution was departed from those whose duty it was to call ministers to account for the misfortunes that befel the state, in order to afcertain whether they were owing to irrefiftible causes, or to the perversity of minifters themselves. The most evident neceffity now dictated fuch an inquiry: the war had lasted only two years, and, in that short period, the enemy had made a progress unknown to former æras; they had overcome all resistance, and ас quired fuch an extent of territory, as placed them in the most alarming state of fuperiority to the confederation formed against them. Could we with safety and prudence proceed in this war? Did our refources warrant its profecution, even allowing it to be just and necessary? but was it in truth either of these? Had ministers acted an upright and spirited part in undertaking and conducting it? these were questions to be refolved previoufly to engaging more deeply in fo ferious a bufiness. Our losses had been immenfe; but the utmost industry was used to conceal or diminish them. Mr. Fox then entered into an elaborate investigation of the numbers that had perished by the sword, or been taken by the enemy. He adverted to the state of population throughout the kingdom, which he thought on the decrease. He calculated the expences of the war at seventy millions, and the permanent taxes it had occafioned at three millions. He asserted the trade of the country to be diminished, the exports being much less than in the year before the war, and insurance as high as in the American war, while contending with our colonies, Spain, France, and Holland, united. We had allies, he said, but could we trust them? one of them, Prussia, by the treaty of 1788, was bound to furnish thirteen thousand men, and had received twelve hundred thousand pounds to double that number: had he effectually done it? Had we the least reason to prefume that Austria would treat us more honourably, after receiving the four or the fix millions it had demanded? the like demands would ensue, year after year, until we were entirely exhausted. The Sardinian subsidy was perfectly useless; that power had done nothing, and Spain was already so reduced, that it must also be fubfidised, or have recourse to an immediate peace for its preservation. Our conduct to neutral nations had been highly difgraceful. We had first provoked them by the tyrannical haughtiness of our behaviour, and, after injuring their commerce, had found it necessary to indemnify them. Our councils had been so equivocal, that neither friends nor foes could form a precife idea of our real intentions: the very emigrants and royalists mistrusted us, and looked upon the coalition as a scheme for difmembering France much more than for restoring it to the Bourbon Family. The naval part of the war, confider 1 ing our fuperiority at fea, had, he faid, been very injudicioufly managed, and our lofles greater than during the American conteft, though we were now confederated with thofe very powers at that time our enemies. The fituation of Ireland, he obterved, required no less the fricteft inquiry: the extreme irritation of the great mass of that people ought to warn minifters not to render themselves responsible for the very possible event of its dilmemberment from the British empire, by the refusal of an inquiry into the difcontents of its inhabitants. While rulers of fuch a defcription as the present prefided over our affairs, he was thoroughly convinced these would never profper; but before he would enter on the propriety of their removal, he would move for an inquiry into the state of the nation. Mr. Pitt, in reply to this speech, allowed the subjects proposed for inquiry to be of the highest importance; but this was not a feafon to discuss them. So extenfive an investigation demanded more time than the remainder of the feffion could allow; befides, that every subject alluded to had already undergone an ample difcuffion: he would advert, however, to some material errors; the loss of men, for instance, was tenfold greater with the enemy than with us; and the increase of manufactures was prodigious, without the decrease of any particular branch. The numbers wanted for the navy and the army were great, and yet the exports for the last year had exceeded those of amy preceding year of war. Without juftifying the conduct of Prussia, till he would recommend the stricteft alliance with Austria, of whose VOL. XXXVII, finarices we should readily fupply the deficiency, in confideration of the auxiliary strength we derived from that quarter. He did not deny the rife of insurance; but attributed it to the extraordinary augmentation of our foreign trade; and, in a great measure, to the deftruction of the naval power of the French, which had induced them to convert the remainder of their marine into privateers, by which means they now carried on a predatory war: but methods, he affirmed, would, ere long, be found to refift this new system of depredation. He complained of the propenfity of those who disapproved of the war, to leffen our successes, and to magnify our lofles; but whatever changes, he added, might happen in the ministerial department, these were not the men in whom those who felt for the honour of their country would repose confidence. He concluded by moving the previous question, after strongly admonishing the house to wave all notice of the affairs of Ireland, as entirely improper at the present period, and productive of more perplexity than service to either of the two kingdoms. Mr. Sheridan censured, with great asperity, Mr. Pitt's answer to Mr. Fox, as totally irrelevant of the main subject. Mr. Canning afferted that the actual fituation of Ireland was a fufficient exculpation for declining all discussion on the fub-. ject. They were followed by Mr. Fox, who refumed the subject with great warmth and energy. He was not surprised, he said, that minifters should object to an inquiry that would endanger their places: but was the nation thus to be facrificed to their convenience? They had infultingly [0] fultingly hinted, that if they were dismissed, ftill he stood no chance of fucceeding them; but whatever miniftry took their places, however fuperior their abilities might be to thofe of their predeceflors in office, never snould they meet with his cooperation while they adopted the principles now acted upon by those in power. His conduct, he obferved with great emotion, had been reprefented as tending to lower the dignity of the British nation; but how could a man prefume to tax him with so heinous a charge, who had, through his obstinacy, brought it fo near to abfolute ruin? Mr. Fox reminded the house, how carneftly he had recommended conciliatory measures with France, before the commencement of the war, and with what disdain they had been rejected by the minifter. Did he how imagine, that as advantageous terms would be obtained from the French as at that period? dared he to hope, after fo many disappointments, for a more aufpicious opportunity than the present? The time to negotiate on an equal footing, with the French, was before an appeal had been made to the fword, and not after repeated defeats, which had placed them on the vantage ground, and lowered our own confequence. We then were rich in refources, and our reputation unimpaired: but who could be fo bold as to deny that both had fuffered? Our allies were then strong in numbers, and high in their military character; but how much fallen fince? how deprefled in spirit, how much weakened and difunited? how defirous to drop the conteft? It was unfufferable, Mr. Fox faid, that a minifter, who had fo groffly mifcalculated the progress of events, and so unhappily ma naged the affairs of this country, should accuse another of endeavouring to debafe the national character, who had uniformly forewarned him, that, by perfifting in this fatal conteft, he would expose this country to the most alarming dangers. This debate concluded by Mr. Pitt's moving an adjournment, and carrying it, by two hundred and nineteen against fixty-three. On the 30th of March, a motion, fimilar to that of Mr. Fox's, was made, in the house of lords, by the earl of Guildford, who fupported it by much the fame arguments, and inculpated, with great acrimony, the meafures of government, as marked with negligence and want of judgement, both in the naval and military department. He was replied to by lord Grenville, who spoke on the fubject of Ireland, in the fame manner as the minifter. He explicitly affirmed, that, however the forces of the coalition had been unfuccefsful on the continent of Europe, the fortune of war had declared for the British flag in every other part of the world. The commerce of France was nearly annihilated, and our fleets ruled uncontroulable in every fea. The blow given to the French at Toulon would long remain irretrieved; and the repeated defeats of their squadrons had fo thoroughly established our naval fuperiority, that they had abandoned all thoughts of meeting us in battle, and confined themselves to a war of piracy and plunder, whenever chance offered them our commercial shipping unprotected and defenceless. The victorious career of the French on the continent, be con |