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speaker on the 8th December, previous to the report of the budget. On the following day, Mr. Pitt moved an addrefs in reply. He obferved that the fentiments expreffed in the meffage were conformable to thofe delivered from the throne at the commencement of the feffion, with a view to the formation of a government in France, with which a fecure and honourable peace might be concluded. He renewed thofe fentiments as applicable to the prefent French government, the recent fucceffes of our allies, and the embarraffment of the enemy's finances. Mr. Sheridan wifhed to know what had occurred, in the fpace of five weeks at moft, of fo important a nature as to occafion fuch an alteration of fentiment in the minifter. In fact, however, he had only one week for this change otherwife why not have declared it before the fettlement for the loan, which would have faved the nation two millions? Mr. Sheridan thought this change of opinion could not be fincere, but intended to defeat the motion for peace, of which Mr. Grey had given previous notice. This very government, Mr. Sheridan faid, which the minifter ftated on the opening of the budget to be "not only on the verge but in the gulph of bankruptcy, and rapidly approaching to what muft inevitably overthrow or destroy it;" this very government was now reprefented to the house not only as a form of government with which we may fafely negotiate, but as capable of maintaining a fecure and permanent peace. Would the minifter fay he was more reconciled to those who exercised the functions of government? Of the executive directory, four out of five

and

had voted for the death of the king. Thefe had been described as men who brought on the war, and with whom no fettled order of things could take place. The revocation of the decree refpecting intermeddling with other governments had long fince taken place. That decree, he obferved, had in fact been a retaliation upon the coalition of kings againft their own government. This, however, he did not, he faid, juftify. What was the time when the French government was thought fit to be treated with? when the rulers of it adopted the fyftem of felf-election,-took all power into their own hands, treated with contempt the rights, opinions, and interefts of the people? Yet then gentlemen exclaimed, this was fomething like a regular government; fomething was now got refembling the British conftitution: and indeed, the way in which they chose to exprefs their attachment to it, was by their eagernefs to retain its abufes. All this looked as if the minifter had fome fubterfuge. Mr. Sheridan further strongly infifted on the propriety and neceffity of not confidering any particular form of government in France as neceflary for peace, whenever it could be effected on fuitable terms; and moved an amendment, which in fubftance went to exprefs the concern of the houfe, that any thing in the internal affairs of France fhould have induced his majefty to a difpofition unfavourable to meeting a negotiation for peace with the ene my; that if the prefent circumftances in France only were admitted as a ground for negotiation, any change might be confidered as a ground for difcontinuing any treaty which was begun; and therefore the houfe prayed to have this

principle

principle entirely difclaimed, and that the form of government in France might be no bar to negotiation, whenever a peace could be fafely effected; and that his majefty would be pleased to order an immediate negotiation to com

mence.

The amendment was oppofed by Mr. Wilberforce and Mr. M. Robinfon. In reply to the former, Mr. Grey obferved, that none could wifh that peace, however defirable, fhould be procured even at the risk of inglorious fubmiffion, or that fuch a relaxation fhould take place in the, conduct of the war as to prevent our exacting thofe terms which the king of England was entitled to afk. The government which the French had chofen, was, however, in fact, the fame in principle with the one with which this Country went to war-that which minifters had declared fo odious and dangerous, that we could only find fafety in its utter deftruction. We had, he faid, firft engaged in war with the Briffotines; the fucceffors of that party were at present in power, more moderate indeed, but precifely acting upon the fame principles. The only difference was, they had a council of ancients instead of a committee, and a council of five hundred inftead of a national convention. France, he obferved, was ftill a republic, one and indivifible; and he wished to know how minifters reconciled the conduct of declaring at one time that nothing but the deftruction of certain principles could prepare the way for peace, and at another taking advantage of a very flight variation of circumftances, to follow the line of conduct so often recommended to them in vain. At that time, Mr. Grey stated, feveral continental powers had concluded trea

es with the French, which had never been violated. He further obferved, that we had been baffled every where but at fea had spent above 50 millions fterling and added above 80 millions to the national debt. He thought there was a part both of the meffage and addrefs fo equivocal, that he wished minifters to be tied down really to negotiate by the terms of the amendment, which declared the government of France no bar to this business.

Mr. Pitt obferved that the amendment went much further than the addrefs: it required minifters to enter into immediate negotiation, whether they faw a proper difpofition on the part of the enemy or not. He denied that our having entered into the war was an ag greffion on our part, or that minifters had ever afferted that the restoration of monarchy there was a fine qua non. From the change which had taken place in the French government, from the change which had arifen in the mode of calling forth its fupplies, — and, above all, the change in the temper and fentiments of the pecple, there was a hope that peace might be concluded with them at this time, which had not existed at any other period of the war. The new conftitution, in its formation, admitted the falfehood of the doctrine of perfect equality. They admitted of artificial diftinctions, which faftened and kept together the mafs of fociety. They had laid hold of one of the elements which contribute to form a focial state for man-a mixed form of government

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and their prefent legiflative fyftem, however long it might endure, was conftituted on a principle very different from that of pure democracy. The fubject of

the

the decayed finances of France had already been futficiently difcuffed; in addition to what had been faid, he would only call the attention of the house to the dying confeffion of their old government, and to the infant acts of the new. Mr. Pitt obferved that the British character in war had never been more exalted than in the prefent. What had been done in Holland and Germany? We had gained the three most important points; Martinique, Cape Nicola Mole, the Cape of Good Hope. If the amendment, and the advice of its promoters, was adopted, the difcretion of government would be entirely taken away, and the refponfibility dou

bled.

The prefent measure was confidered by Mr. Fox as a total retraction of all the charges which had been made against himfelf: for he had from the first maintained the very doctrine delivered in his majefty's meffage. The amendment, he contended, fo far from exceeding, did not go to the extent of the meffage: it only declared that there were no impediments to treating, in the form of the government in France. In fupporting the amendment, he was far from arguing against the addrefs: he was, in fact, fupporting it by what gave it meaning and force. The meffage, he faid, exprefsly declared that the French had now adopted fuch a form of government that Great Britain might fafely treat with them. If that was the cafe, what poffible objection could there be to a declaration that we would treat with them? The fitnefs of that country to maintain the relations of peace and amity was evident to the whole world, and would have been fo to the minifter, had he been fincere in June laft, when he moved an amend

ment to the motion for a pacification, which he called a conditional declaration that we were disposed to treat with France whenever there was a government capable of maintaining thofe relations. With this glaring fact before their eyes, would the houfe again leave it in the power of minifters to juggle with words? Would they not think it prudent to bind them down to a specific act upon their own words? If they did not, what confidence could they have in the prefent declaration more than in the paft? Mr. Fox pointed out many evafions which might otherwife occur. The minifters, he faid, had perfuaded the houfe to leave them open, and had neglected the time upon which other statesmen had wifely feized, and happily improved. The gentlemen with whom he acted, never did contend that the French conftitution was well framed; and they utterly detefted the atrocities that had been committed there; they had only afferted the capacity of that country to maintain faith with foreign nations. He thought the prefent government no more capable of this than any of its predeceffors. The Briffotine party main. tained the treaties of their predeceffors. The execrable tyrant, Robefpiere, had obferved, with equal fidelity, the treaties made with Briffot. His fucceffors were equally fteady in the external fyftem which had been adopted. Confidering the treaties which ministers had made, with whom they had made them, and what acts of aban doned tyranny they had not dif countenanced, it was not worthy the manly character of the British nation to abet them in their refiftance to a treaty with France. Mr. Fox expatiated with his ufual abi. lity on what he conceived the ab

furdity

furdity of confidering France as now capable of maintaining the relations with foreign powers because their diftrefs was fo great that this very ftable government was on the point of annihilation. If their diftrefs was a reafon for treating with them, had they not this diftrefs a year ago, when the minifters ftated the depreciation of affignats at eighty per cent? He pointedly ridiculed the idea of confidering the prefent rulers of France as objects of perfect confidence because they had two houfes of legislation inftead of one. There was, he faid, fomething fo whimfical, and fo unworthy of statesmen, in that mode of reafoning, that he would not ftop to anfwer it. Was the Jacobin government destroyed? Was the government founded on the rights of man at an end? Had the declaration of November 19, 1792, been more abandoned than it was two years ago? Why had minifters not treated before?-Because they objected to treat exprefsly with a government founded on the rights of man. He would not, he faid, affert that the minifter had gone the length of afferting that the war would be bellum ad internecionem: but he ufed a quotation which left this impreffion upon his memory;

this was,

"Potuit que plurima virtus Effe, fuit. Toto certatum eft corpore regni." Mr. Fox proceeded to ask how far we had attained the objects of the war. The first was our obligation to defend the States General and prevent the opening of the Scheldt. Minifters now fpoke of treating with France poffeffed of Holland. We had then failed for Holland. What had we done for Auftria, Spain, and Pruffia? From a review of the tranfactions of the

war, he contended that it had been highly difaftrous. On every account Mr. Fox thought it neceffary to bind minifters to make peace. It was a vulgar opinion, and the moft vulgar of opinions, that it was conftantly 'difadvantageous to a power at war to be the first to offer terms of peace: the experi ence of hiftory proved the very reverfe: and were peace offered to the French on reasonable terms, it would not be in the power of the directory or the council of anients, nor the two houses joined, to refufe the terms. The people would force them to agree to them. It had been faid that the present mefiage might have been expected from the fpeech at the opening of the feffion. The fpeech from the throne had, however, produced no impreffion on the funds. The meffage produced on that day a rife in the funds, of five or fix per cent.

Mr. Dundas faid that nothing had fallen from the minister tending to prove that it was contrary to the interest or honour of a country to make advances for peace. There were, indeed, fo many indirect ways of founding each other's intentions, that it was frequently difficult to difcover which party made the first offer. The argument had only gone to prove the injuftice of putting the executive power under the neceffity of making peace, and making minifters refponfible for the terms. He entered into an argument to fhew the difficulty of this fituation, and the impracticability of fuccefs. Minifters in fuch a fituation ought to be left unfettered. If this argument was juft, and he thought it incontrovertible, it must apply against the amend ment, which bound the hands of

the

the executive power, and laid the country at the mercy of France.Mr. Dundas went over the ufual ground of argument, to fhew that the aggreffion was not on our fide, and that the war was not carried on for the restoration of the ancient defpotifm. When the motion for peace was made the preceding year, the fucceffes of the French were much greater than at prefent. The whole eaftern coaft of the kingdom was in a panic, on account of the refources of Holland being gained to France. Would it then have been politic to negotiate? Could we then even have obtained tolerable terms? France would have retained her power, and, what was still worse, would have retained her pride. The object of Great Britain was, fo to reduce the power of France, as to give a probability of a permanent peace; and would it be contended that their power was in any degree in the fame ftate as at the period alluded to? Taking into confideration the objects for which we had contended, and the nature of the enemy, this had been a most fuccefsful war! So far from being true was the affertion that from the distracted state of the French they must have been anxious for peace last year, this was the first period when their language or fentiments had fhewn the leaft of a pacific difpofition. Mr. Dundas faid he thought it neceffary to remind the houfe that the meffage only held out our readinefs to negotiate upon honourable terms, and vindicated the fincerity of minifters in the meffages they had produced The laft, he faid, could not have appeared at a more fuitable time than after the fupplies had been granted for carrying on the war another year, as the enemy might

now be apprifed of our prepara tion for either alternative. After a few obfervations from general Smith in favour of the amendment, and a fhort reply from Mr. Sheridan, the amendment was negatived without a divifion, and the addrefs carried.

The meffage was brought down to the houfe of lords by lord Grenville, December 9th, who on the following day moved an addrefs, exactly fimilar to that in the commons, which, after a fhort debate, was agreed to.

Very foon after the recefs, Mr. Grey obferved in the houfe of commons, that, from the message delivered from his majesty, a general expectation of returning peace had been excited, and a general defire of knowing whether it was ftill at a distance, or whether we were ftill to profecute the war. As the chancellor of the exchequer replied that he did not think it in cumbent upon him to anfwer fuch a question at prefent, Mr. Grey proceeded to give notice of his intended motion for peace, which he introduced to the house on 15th February. He observed, that, contrary to the hopes that had been formed, no negotiation for peace had taken place, but that minifters appeared determined to prosecute the conteft to extremity; that they had totally changed the language with which they fet out: it was no longer the prefervation of focial order, the fafety of regular government, or the extirpation of doctrines hoftile to tranquillity;the expedient was now recurred to of deluding the people with the hopes of peace, while they were determined to perfevere in the system of warfare. Mr. Grey took a review of our embarkation in the war, and contended that the confe

quences

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