D

URING the long receís, with which the members of parliament were this year indulged, Great Britain continued to enjoy an undisturbed tranquillity and repofe; --for it is fcarcely neceffary to except the momentary alarm, occafioned by the danger, to which the perfon of the fovereign was expofed from the attempt of a miferable lunatic, as related in our last volume; nor that

conteft of loyalty and affection, which it called forth amongst every clafs and defcription of his fubjects.

On the 29th of September a treaty of commerce and navigation with France was figned at Verfailles by Mr. Eden, to whom the negotiation of that measure had been entrufted on the part of Great Britain. We fhall forbear making any other remark upon this new and important event, than that it appears to have caused much alarm and apprehenfion amongst the manufacturing part of the French nation: its expediency and policy, with refpect to this country, will be found amply difcuffed in the proceedings of the British parliament.

The state of political parties remained alfo without any confiderable variation. The right hon. Charles Jenkinson was advanced to the dignity of a peer of Great Britain, and made chancellor of the dutchy of Lancaster, and prefident of the board of trade, and, though not admitted in form to a feat in his majesty's cabinet councils, was fupposed to be confidentially confulted upon all affairs of importance; the

earl Gower was made marquis of Stafford, and lord Camden an earl; and the duke of Athol, earl of Abercorn, duke of Montague (with remainder to the fecond fon of the duke of Buccleugh) the duke of Queensbury, earl of Tyrone, earl of Shannon, lord Delaval, fir Harbord Harbord, and fir Guy Carleton, were created peers of Great Britain. On the 23d of January

his

majesty opened the 23d Jan. 1787. fourth feffion of the prefent parliament by a speech from the throne, in which, after mentioning the friendly difpofition of foreign powers towards this country, he informed the two houfes, that he had concluded a treaty of commerce with the French king, and had ordered a copy of it to be laid before them. He recommended, as the first object of their deliberations, the neceffary measures for carrying it into effect; and expreffed his truft, that they would find the provifions contained in it to be calculated for the encouragement of industry, and the extenfion of lawful commerce in both countries; and, by promoting a beneficial intercourfe between their respective inhabitants, likely to give additional permanency to the bleffings of peace.

To the house of commons he recommended the ftate of the revenue as a conftant object of their attention; and expreffed his hopes that fome regulations would, in this feffion, be carried into effect for the eafe of the merchants, and for fimplifying the public accounts.

The ufual addreffes were moved and feconded, in the house of lords by the earl of Rochford and lord Dacre, and in the lower house by lord Compton and Mr. Matthew Montague, the member for Boffi ney. As they contained nothing but matters of mere compliment to the king, they paffed without oppofition; but in the houfe of commons Mr. Fox thought himself bound to take notice of fome general principles which had been lain down by the propofers of the addrefs, apparently as the ground upon which it was intended to defend the treaty, that had lately been concluded with the court of Verfailles.

He obferved that much ftrefs had been laid upon certain propofitions, which he readily admitted were in themselves incontrovertible ;-that peace, for inftance, was preferable to war, and commerce to conqueft, and that mutual jealoufies were the caufe of frequent mifchiefs: but he denied that they were any way peculiarly applicable to our circumstances at the prefent moment. They were principles, he said, upon which the government of this country had been uniformly and wifely conducted for the laft century; but it remained to be feen how far they would juftify' any innovation in the established fyftem of our policy, fhould the treaty, which was foon to become the fubject of their confideration, contain in fact fuch innovation. All the wars of Great Britain had been wars of neceffity; and that jealoufy of the power of France, which we were now called upon to lay afide, had been founded upon the fulleft experience of her ambitious defigns. Where then was the neceffity of inculcating forbearance upon thofe who had never acted wantonly, or

the prudence of arguing against a jealoufy, to which we owed our very fafety?

He deprecated the imputation of being governed by vulgar prejudices, but at the fame time he declared it to be his opinion, that the external circumftances of the two nations rendered a rivalship and, in fome degree, an enmity between them inevitable, and that it was impoffible to prevent them by any. meafure which human fpeculation could devife-Nay, he would not hefitate to pronounce, that were fuch an event poffible, it was not to be wished for by any lover of this country.

The treaty, he said, must be ei ther commercial, or partly commercial and partly political; and in one or other of these points of view its merits were to be estimated. If, as he fincerely wished, it was a mere commercial treaty, the framers of it had only to prove that the new channel of trade which it opened would not obstruct or would be more beneficial than all the other ancient channels, which this kingdom had long been in poffeffion of and which had been found to be the fources of her commercial wealth and profperity: but if, on the other hand, minifters avowed that the treaty was intended as a political measure, and that they had in view fome more close and intimate connection with France, fuch as fhould render it in future more difficult for the two countries to go to war than heretofore, they then would have to fhew ftrong and fatisfactory reafons for having purfued and concluded a meature fo new in the hiftory of these kingdoms, and of fuch infinite magni tude and importance.

He faid, he might venture how[E] 2

ever

tempt, admitting it to be fafe and prudent, would prove vain and abortive. Upon this ground he took a general view of the political conduct of France towards this country, and towards the other powers of Europe. However volatile and inconftant the French nation may be fuppofed to be, the French cabinet, he remarked, had been for centuries the most fteady and uniform in Europe. To raise that monarchy to unlimited power had been its unvarying aim; and he defied any man to point out an inftance in which that court had let flip any opportunity which feemed to have the least tendency, however remote in appearance, to promote its favourite object.

He demanded what reafons there were to fuppofe that France had abandoned the purpofe he had fo long and uniformly aimed at. Her power, he contended, was at this moment greater than in the reign of Louis XIV.; and could any ftatefman be dupe enough to believe that moderation, at a moment when moderation feemed leaft neceffary, was the real and true motive that had induced France to accede to a treaty, which held forth, the fpecious appearance of rendering all future hoftilities between her and Great Britain almost impoffible to happen?

But perhaps his majefty's minif ters would furnish the houfe with some explicit and pofitive proofs of this great change in the politics of France, and of the fincerity of her friendly difpofition towards us. They might, as yet, be faid to be in the honey-moon of their new connection; and he asked whether, du

influence of France greatly operating in their favour with those powers, with whom they were now negociating alliances? Did it manifeft itself in the court of Vienna, in the court of Spain, in the court of Peterfburg, or at the Hague? He believed the very reverfe was well known to be the fact.

But there was another circumftance which deserved their most ferious confideration. The army of France was formerly the first in Europe: it was now but the fourth, being inferior to thofe of Ruffia, Pruffia, and the emperor. On the other hand, her navy was daily increafing, and to that object her whole attention was directed. Was this a favourable fymptom of her friendly difpofition towards this country? Did it indicate any extraordinary partiality towards Great Britain? Did it not clearly prove that her confidence was placed upon her continental alliances, and that fhe was looking forward to and preparing for fome favourable opportunity of indulging her inveterate animofity against her ancient ene

mies?

There remained but one fuppofition, upon which the ardour, that had appeared for a clofe political connection with France, could be accounted for. He acquitted the firft ininifter of the charge he was going to make; but he believed there were men in this country fo loft to the memory of its former greatnefs, fo funk in their own bafe defpondency, as to think it right for us, diminished as our fplendour was, to feize the earliest opportunity of making terms with our rifing neighbour, of forming an

intimate

by that means artfully fecuring her favour and protection.

Mr. Fox concluded his fpeech with fome obfervations upon the effects, which the new treaty would have upon the treaty fubfifting between Great Britain and Portugal. The Methuen treaty, he obferved, was justly a favourite of this nation : it had been productive, during the courfe of near a century, of the most important benefits; and he therefore trufted, that before parliament would fanction any new engagements, that might endanger fo fure and tried a fource of commercial advantage, they would require from his majesty's minifter the fulleft fatisfaction upon that effential article.

Mr. Pitt, in reply to Mr. Fox, charged him with the moft fhamelefs inconfiftency, in giving his affent to an addrefs, againft the greateft part of which he had been arguing with all the force of his eloquence. He hoped however, for the fake of unanimity in their proceedings, that he would purfue the fame line of conduct through the rest of the feffion; and that whenever he spoke against the measures of government, he would always thirk it prudent to vote for them. As to his apprehenfions of being thought to be governed by vulgar prejudices, they were quite unneceffary, as his opinions were fo far from being vulgar, that he believed he was the only perfon in the whole kingdom who entertained them.

Mr. Pitt then proceeded to combat the principles laid down by Mr. Fox, which went, he faid, to prove the neceffity and the policy of a conftant animofity with France. These doctrines, he contended, mi

against both humanity and common fenfe. He asked, whether he meant to recommend to this country fuch a fpecies of political jealoufy as fhould be either mad or blind; fuch a fpecies, as fhould induce her either madly to throw away, that which was to make us happy, or blindly to grafp at that, which muft end in her ruin? Was the neceffity of a perpetual animofity with France lo evident and fo preffing, that for it we were to facrifice every commercial advantage we might expect from a friendly intercourfe with that country; or was a pacific connection between the two kingdoms fo highly offenfive, that even an extenfion of commerce could not palliate it? For his part, he could by no means join in opinion with the right honourable gentleman, that the fituation of Great Britain and France was fuch, as precluded the poffibility of an amicable intercourfe; and he was fure, if fuch intercourfe was not abfolutely impracticable, the treaty now depending was the moft likely of any measure to effect it. Such a treaty would make it the intereft of each nation to cherish and preferve the connection between them, and would fo effentially implicate and unite the views and convenience of a large part of each kingdom, as to enfure, as much as poffible, the permanence of the fyftem about to be established.

The honourable gentleman had triumphantly foretold the overthrow of this project, by the reftlefs ambition of France. How foon fuch an event might take place, he could not poffibly forefee; but if war was the greatest of evils, and commerce the greatest bleffing that a country could [E] 3 enjoy