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mentous conteft upon the principles herein expreffed, and having fully confidered, examined, and weigh ed the arguments offered to induce a dereliction of them, confcientiouly adhering to, and firmly abiding by them, I thus record them in juftification of my own conduct, and in difcharge of the duty I owe to my king, my country, and the general interefts of civil fociety.

We have inferted this extraordinary proteft in the body of our hiftorical detail, contrary to our ufual practice, not only becaufe of the ability with which it is drawn up, but because it contains a clofe and well-digefted fummary of the arguments for the continuation of the prefent war. Notwithstanding the fingularity of its contents, it is undoubtedly a very able state-paper, and throws much light on the prefent afpect of European politics. It is fuppofed by fome to have been the production of an eminent literary character lately deceased.

. The addrefs to his majefty was moved in the commons by lord Morpeth. He faid, whatever the opinions might have been refpect ing the origin of the war, it must give the gentlemen of that houfe fatisfaction to concur in a motion which had for its end an honour able peace; they must rejoice that the period was arrived in which a negotiation might be entered into; that there now exifted in France a government which might be fafely treated with, and that a paffport had been obtained for a minifter from this country to proceed to Paris. He hoped the negotiation would terminate favourabiy; but he alfo hoped we fhoald fhow, whilft we were defirous of peace, that we were in a state to continue the coneft, and could, if neceffary, re

double our efforts for the profecution of war. He obferved, that our refources were adequate for this purpofe; our exports for the laft year had exceeded by two millions fterling the amount of the laft, and commercial profperity had rifen to a high degree during a period of war: he concluded with moving an addrefs, to affure his majefty, that they refle&ed with fatisfaction on the state of commerce in this country, on the continuance of our internal tranquillity, on the happy effects of the wifdom and energy of our laws in repreffing anarchy, and that he might rely at all times on his commons for fuch fupplies as might be neceffary for the fervice of the year, and on the fupport of his parliament for thofe exertions directed to defeat the defigns of the enemy.

Sir W. Lowther, in a fhort fpeech, feconded the addrefs.

Mr. Fox, declining to give a filent vote, left it might be fubject to mifconftruction, faid, that his majesty had at length been advised to do what it had been his lot to advife his majesty's minifters to do the last three years, namely, to open a negotiation. But however he might lament that this measure had not been taken before a hundred millions were spent, and thoufands of lives loft, in this cruel conteft, yet it had his warm ap probation now that it had been adopted; that he would not recollect, much lefs retaliate, the perfonal invectives against himself, the infinuations that an attempt to negotiate with fuch a people was a degradation to the dignity of Great Britain; that it was to fue for peace, and lay his majesty's crown at their feet.

There were fome expreffions, however,

however, of which he fhould take notice and first, that every endeavour had been used to open a negotiation. Now, unlefs thefe words alluded to the endeavours made fince the clofe of the laft year, he fhould animadvert upon the minifters for their former want of endeavours to bring it about. He much approved of their having left out in the fpeech the words to which they were fo bigoted before, of the war being undertaken for the caufe of humanity and religion: -neither had they come forward with their conftant and unfounded phrafe, that it was neceffary: they had acted wifely in abftaining from intemperate language, when they were to negotiate for peace. But there were other parts of the fpeech which demanded explanation; fuch as the flourishing state of our trade and commerce, by which our refources are faid to be adequate to the crisis in which we are involved: he muft hesitate in giving credit to an affertion fo little fupported by the public appearance of things: when he looked at the price of the funds of the country, the state of the transferable fecurities of government, the monftrous discount on the enormous quantities of paper which they have iffued, with the fchemes to relieve the pecuniary embarraffments of trade, he was led to think our refources were in a lefs favourable fituation than the minifters had chofen to reprefent them; nor could he with-hold fome remarks upon the tranquillity of the country in which we are made to rejoice; a fentiment, indeed, in which he concurred, for tranquil lity was at all times defirable; but when he heard it afcribed to the wifdom and energy of the laws paffed in the laft feffion of the laft parliament, he entered his moft fo

lemn proteft against the whole of the affertion. He never had been convinced that there had been any perfons in this country worth attention, defirous of anarchy and confufion; nor could laws, which were calculated to excite terror and abhorrence, produce tranquillity. Such laws might produce a falfe quiet, which he confidered as a real alarm: could we rejoice in fuch tranquillity where difcuffion was to be ftifled, and men were to brood in fecret over the grievances which they felt? No: fuch a tranquillity alarmed him more than tumult; it was a tranquillity which every man who loved freedom ought to fee with pain, every man who loved order, with terror.

To the conftitution no man could feel a ftronger attachment than himfelf; but he would not fport with the word; he would not use it without explaining it: his attachment was to the conftitution under. which he was born, under which he was bred; not to that of the laft parliament, which did more to maim and disfigure the ancient conftitution of England than any former parliament which ever fat within thofe walls. To the protection of the ancient conflitution alone he afcribed that tranquillity which the country enjoyed. He would not join in this infinuation of praife upon thofe abominable laws, nor attribute to them effects which he believed inapplicable; and, much as he wifhed for general approbation of the endeavours to procure peace to this country, he hould think it purchafed at too dear a rate if. coupled with approbation of thefe abhorrent laws. It was his duty, he thought, to fay fo much, that his vote might not be mifin terpreted into acquiefcence in this part of the addrefs. The whole

fyftem

fyftem of the war had been a faulty fyftem; the fyftem of domeftic politics had been equally faulty; whatever the refult of the negotiations might be, it was the duty of the boufe to re confider the general fyftem of politics adopted of late years, and whether it were poffible to go on if that fyftem fhould be purfued. Peace was certainly the great object; but whether peace would be effectual if there were no change in domeftic politics, was matter of doubt: that it would be beneficial, whatever fyftem was purfued, he was ready to affert. If it continued to be a bad one, peace would diminish the calamities of it; if it were amended, it would augment the benefits; at all events it was defirable; in one cafe it would be a palliative, in the other, a remedy; and in both it could not but be good, and therefore should have his warmelt fupport.

What were likely to be the terms of peace, he would not even conjecture; but he would not hesitate to fay, we ought to negotiate in the fpirit of great moderation. With regard to the Auftrian victories, which made a topic of animated exultation in his majefty's fpeech, it might be right to rejoice in the gallantry they had difplayed, and the laurels they had recently acquired; no man admired their great military exertions more than he did; but let it be remembered that we were called to rejoice on their having recovered only a part of what was loft in this campaign, and that it was not because they had reaped fucceffes calculated to obtain what minifters had flated to be the object of the war, but becaufe they had faved the houfe of Austria from the deftruction with which it was threatened. We

could not prefume to flatter ourfelves that the Auftrians were likely to recover all they had lost in the prefent campaign, much lefs what they had loft in all the campaigns that were paft. The achievements of our navy had been brilliant and glorious; at no former period had they difplayed greater gallantry, and never perhaps equal skill; yet after all this, the peace we were defirous to obtain; and the utmost we could expect was, that it fhould be folid, and of permanent dura

I hen what must be the fort of conflict in which we were engaged, when, after a four years' fucceisful exertion of all the skill and all the valour of our navy, all our efforts could not produce a peace either brilliant or glorious, but we muft content ourselves with hoping it may be folid and permanent? Might we not fuppofe that there was fomething in our caufe radically defective, which palfied our efforts, and difappointed our ftrength? fomething which demanded from the common fenfe and prudence of Englishmen a ftrict and rigorous inveftigation, that we might difcover what this fomething was, not merely to retrieve the prefent calamity, but guard our offspring against the error in future. No great length of time would elapfe before he fhould think it his duty to bring this matter before the houfe; for it was of the most effential importance to the wellbeing of the country, and to the true fupport of the crown, that an enquiry fhould be made into all the caufes which had brought the nation into its prefent state, and produced the evils of the prefent war, for the purpofe of advifing his majefty to make a funda- ́ mental change in the fyftem upon which we had lately acted, both

with regard to foreign and domeftic policy. He found it neceffary to ay fo much, that he might not preclude himself from the difcuf. Lon of these topics at fome future day; and, with this referve, he did not oppofe the addrefs.

Mr. chancellor Pitt faid, that be confidered it as matter of just pride and honeft fatisfaction, that at fo critical a conjuncture there fhould be no difference of fentiment in the house upon the only great and fubftantial queftion on which the address expreffed an opinion. Such a circumftance exbibited the moft decided proof that the steps which his majefty had taken for negotiation, and the clear and explicit declaration he had made, were in themfelves fo unexceptionable, and fo well calculated for the end in view, that they must command affent from any man who retained the fmallest care for the intereft and honour of his country.

The honourable gentleman had justly stated, that what hitherto had been done only amounted to an overture for peace; it was indeed impoffible to ftate what would be the refult, what would be the difpofition of the enemy, or what circumftances would occur to influence the fate of the negotiation. We ought to look fairly to our own fituation; it held out to us a chance of peace if the enemy were difpofed to accede to it on juft and reasonable terms; but, if not,-if they were actuated by ambitious projects, we fhould gain another object by the course we had purfued: we should unmask them in the eyes of Europe; we fhould expofe the injuftice of their policy, and their infatiable thirst for aggrandifement; and if no other advantage were gained, we should

at least be able to put to the proof the fincerity of the pledge which had that day been given that, if the enemy were not difpofed to accede to peace on juft and reafonable terms, the war would be fupported by the unanimous voice, and the collected force, of the nation. If the unanimity were not founded merely on the pleafing found of peace, the captivating charm of renewed tranquillity, and the profpect of the termination of thofe scenes of horror with which war is always attended; if it were the refult of rational reflection, founded on a careful confideration of the fituation of the country, and prepared to meet every conjuncture, it could not be too highly prized. We ought not to put out of view thofe means of exertion which we yet poffeffed: we ought to compare our state with that of the enemy; and the amount of our own acquifitions with the loffes of our allies we ought to estimate the extent of thofe facrifices, which, under all these circumftancés, it may be fitting for us to make, to effect the restoration of peace. The right honourable gentleman had intimated, that we ought to change the whole fyftem of our interior policy, confidering it as inconfiftent with the conftitution of our country, yet profeffing himself fo well fatisfied with the conftitution as to afcribe to it that internal and undisturbed order and tranquillity which for fome time past had been enjoyed; at the fame time reprobating the laws which were paffed in the last parliament, and refufing to fubfcribe to any conftruction of that part of the fpeech which included these amongst the means which had fecured tranquillity. He, on the contrary, was of opinion that, exclufive of the influence of

thefe

thefe laws, the peace of the country could not have been maintained; nor could he fuffer reproach to fall on the last parliament, who difplayed their wisdom and energy in providing a remedy fuited to the alarming crifis. If there fhould be any ambiguity in the addrefs refpecting them, it was, because they were fo confiftent with the fpirit of the conftitution, fo blended with the fyftem of jurifprudence, fo congenial to the practice of former times, and fo conformable even to the letter of former acts, that it was impoffible to make any difcrimination; they had been paffed in a moment of alarm and turbulence, and they had been found admirably calculated to meet the emergency of the time.

There were fome other points: upon which the right honourable gentleman had touched: he had feemed to think that endeavours had only been made of late to procure peace; he, for his own part, was confident, that no endeavours had been wanting for that purpose on the fide of his majesty's minifters; but what might be admitted ás an endeavour depended on a variety of circumftanees, and would be differently appreciated by individuals of oppofite fentiments: it depended on the relative state of parties, on the number of allies with whom we might be engaged to act, on the attention which we paid to their interefts, and on the concert we wished to preferve with them. Taking all thefe confiderations into view, he pledged himself that it would be found on enquiry, that ministers had neglected no opportunity which could have been improved, for accelerating peace. The right honourable gentleman afferted, that we were at laft come to the period which he at first had pointed out, and were only now

adopting those measures, which, if we had liftened to him, might have been adopted long ago. But did it follow, that the measure was right then, because it was fo now? Might not a period of four years have produced many events to justify a material change of policy, and to render measures wife and expedient which at another time would not have been fo? As to the question of our refources, they furnished, in a moment like the prefent, a fubject of well-grounded confidence.

If the revenue, after a four years' war, which might have been expected to have injured it so materially in fo many branches; after the additional burthens which had been impofed, ftill kept up at the rate at which it was ftated last year; if the commerce, notwithstanding the embarrassments which it had to encounter, had attained, and continued to enjoy, a pitch of unexampled profperity; if fuch had been the state of things during a period when the country had to contend for every thing dear to it; if, notwithstanding the obftacles which had clogged the machinery, the fpring had retained fo much force and vigour, we might prefume, that, if by the obftinacy and ambition of the enemy we fhould be called to ftill greater exertions, our refources yet remained untouched; we might prefume, that we fhould be able to bring them into action with a degree of concert and effect worthy of the British nation.

Thefe refources (he obferved). had nothing in them hollow or delufive; they were the refult of an accumulated capital, of encreafing commerce, of high and established credit; they were the fruits of fair exertion, of laudable ingenuity, of fuccefsful induftry; they had been produced under a system of

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