CHAP. X. Clouded Afpe&t of British Affairs in the End of 1796, and earlier Part of 1797.-Meffages from His Majesty to both Houses of Parliament, relating to the Rupture of the Negociation for Peace at Paris.—Addresses in Conjequence moved to His Majefty.—Amendments propofed.—Debates.—Amendments rejected, and the Addresses carried by large Majorities.—Motion for Peace in the House of Lords.-Motion for the fame End in the House of Commons. Debates in both Houfes. W * WHILE either the improvidence of our councils, or the adverfity of events, involved a neceffity of heavy and even fevere taxation, other difcouraging circumftances accompanied or followed this evil in clofe fucceffion. Difficulty crowded on difficulty, danger on danger. On the return of lord Malmefbury, towards the close of 1796, from the unfuccefsful negociation at Paris, the British funds fuffered a greater depreffion than was experienced at any period of the American war. Infurrections prevailed in many parts of Ireland, difcontents in all: an unexampled run on the bank of England was followed by a fufpenfion of payment in fpecie; a mutiny of unprecedented extent and inveteracy raged in the navy; fymtoms of difcontent began to appear in the army; the public diflatisfaction and alarm were expreffed in petitions from all quarters, for a change of meafures, if not of minif ters; the wild and darkening foreft But threatened to close around us. vitias and paffages were opened for our efcape: and temporary embarrafinents and alarms, only ferved to prove the extent of our refources, and the influence of thofe virtues which fill ftrung the nerves of both private and public credit, and united Englishmen in the bonds of mutual confidence, and an attachment to their common country. In the circumfiances and temper of the nation, in December, 1797, an opinion very generally prevailed, that the embafly was fent over to Paris, by his majefty's minifters, for the fole purpofe of amufing people with the fallacious hopes of peace, that they might the more eafily procure money for the profecution of the war. The adherents of the miniftry, on the other hand, laboured by all means, whether of fpeaking or writing, to imprefs a conviction, that the rupture of the negociation for peace at Paris was to be attributed to a fyftematical avertion The three per cent. confols, being fo low as 517 and and apprehenfion of peace, in the governing party in the French republic. His majefty's declaration, on this fubject, was laid before the houfe of lords, by lord Grenville, on the 27th of December. The fubfrance of this declaration was," that the rupture of the negociation did not arife from the failure of any fincere attempt on the part of France; but from the determination of that government (meaning the government) to reject all means of peace, by an obftinate adherence to a claim which never could be admitted; a claim, which that government refted on the conflitution of its own country, to be received by all nations as paramount to every principle and law in Europe, as fuperior to the obligations of treaties, the ties of common intereft, and the most urgent confiderations of general fecurity. His majelly, who had entered into this treaty, with good faith, had now only to lament its abrupt termination; and to declare, in the face of Europe, that whenever his enemies fhould he difpofed to enter on the work of general pacification, nothing fhould be wanting, on his part, to contribute to the accomplishment of that great object, which was only retarded (meaning retarded only) by the exorbitant pretenfions of his enemies." A fimilar meffage, on the fame fubject, was fent from his majefty to the houfe of commons. Authentic copies of all the papers, relative to the negociation, having been printed for the ufe of the members, his majesty's meffage, on that fubject, was, on the 30th of December, taken into confideration, in both houfes of parliament. This meflage being read in the houfe of lords, lord Grenville, after lamenting the failure of the negocition, proceeded to fhew the fincerity of his majefty in that bufinefs, on the one part, and the infincerity of the French republic on the other. In conclufion, he moved an addrefs to his majefty, containing afurances that "the lords were perfectly fatiffied with his majefty's conduct in the whole of the negociation, and that he might place the fulleft confidence in the wildom and firmnefs of his parliament, on the tried walour of his forces by fea and land, and on the zeal, public fpirit, and' refources of his kingdoms, for vigorous and effectual fupport in the profecution of a conteft, which it did not depend on his majefty to terminate, and which involved in it the fecurity and permanent interefts of this country. The earl of Guildford declared, that, in his opinion, the prefent was the moft unfortunate day this country had ever experienced, that only excepted which had plunged us into the calamities of the prefent war. If the ftatus quo ante bellum had been the principle agreed on, he was ready to admit that the French had departed from that principle: but this was by no means the cafe. The principle that was to from the bafis of the negociation, was that of proportional reftitution: and was there any man being, who could fay, that what we offered to be reftied to France, was an equivalent to what we afked of her to restore to our allies? His lordship conluded his peech, by propofing an amendment to the addrefs, ftating what he corceived to be blameable in the conduct of his majefty's minifiers daring the whole courfe of the war, charging them with infincerity in every part of the negociation, and [LS] moving moving that a committee might be appointed to inquire into the prefent calamitous state of the country. The earl of Derby denied, as he always had done, any neceflity, on our part, of going into the present war. He defcribed the prefent diftressful state of the country; and exprefled his fufpicions that the miniftry were infincere in their late fhew of negociation. His lordship thought that Pondicherry in the Eaft Indies, and Martinico, St. Lucia, and Tobago, in the Weft Indies, could never be confidered as an equivalent for the Milanefs and the Auftrian Netherlands. The earl of Liverpool faid, that what we had offered to the French, was, in reality, an equivalent to what we asked of them to be given up. It was reported, that the revenue they received from their WeftIndia iflands, generally amounted to ten millions annually.-Why did not the French directory, when they were diffatisfied with the propofa's from the British court, bring forward fome counter-project of their own? Lord Auckland declared, that, though he, from the beginning of this bufinefs, firmly believed that it would not be attended with any fuccefs, had yet been of opinion that it was right that the experiment fhould be made, for the fatiffaction of the country. The expegiment had been made, and the refult was fuch as he had expected. He declared his conviction, that the defenders of the French republic were in fuch a fiate of diftress, as not to be able to go through another campaign. The earl Fitzwilliam faid, that no ircumfiance had occurred to convince him, that the former proud and dangerous principles of the French did not now exift in their full force. There could be no fafety in fraternizing with fuch a people. The duke of Bedford, among other fhrewd remarks, obferved, that lord Malmesbury, in his converfation with M. de la Croix, by hinting at an equivalent for the Netherlands, had, in a manner, admitted the plea of the directory, and that, in contradiction to the treaties fubfifting between Great Britain and her allies. The French minifter, at the fame time, by converfing about an equivalent, proved that he virtually admitted that fome equivalent might be accepted.Lord Malmesbury, he observed, had requested a contre projet, whilft, at the fame time, he perfifted in refufing to enter upon any treaty in which the French were to retain poffeffion of the Netherlands. From thefe circumftances, as well as that of lord Malmesbury being left without a difcretionary power in any matter of importance, his grace inferred, that minifters were not fincere in the propofed negociations for peace. He thought that before a renewal of the negociation, minifters ought to have fatisfied themselves, that the French directory had departed from the principle they avowed, when they refused to treat with Mr. Wickham. In his opinion, minifters had not only created fufpicions, as to the fincerity of their intentions, but even afforded juft grounds for accufation. They had acted on a principle of augmenting the power of great ftates, at the expence of those which were weaker; fuch, he faid, was their idea of remunerative juftice! By confenting to fuch a principle, Europe would fink into a miferable labyrinth labyrinth of defpotic arrogance; "a principle on which," faid his grace, "I fhall make no comment, but leave it to your confcience to decide." The earl Spencer denied that lord Malmesbury, in his converfation with de la Croix, had propofed any ultimatum. The laft note of the directory was actually the heginning of negociation on their part. And, what was their propofal?" You fhall accept the bafis of our new-formed conftitution, which engrafts a conquered country into an integral part of our territories. The principle advanced by force, would go to fubvert all the acknowledged laws of nations. Whilft the directory were requiring an ultimatum from us, they were in fact giving one themfelves. The lord chancellor faid, that the amendment in detail was nothing elfe than an exaggeration of the power of the enemy, encouraging to them, and depreffing to the interefts of this country. The inference to be drawn from it was, that this Country muft fubmit to whatever terms the enemy chofe to impofe. He denied the earl of Guildford's affertion, that the memorial prefented to the French directory, was of a fophiftical nature: for what could contain, in plainer terms, a more ingenious declaration of what England was difpofed to furrender, and what to demand in behalf of her allies? But whatever might be the relative value of the compenfations propofed, they had never, in fact, been brought under difcuffion The propofals of England towards the enemy was generous and liberal: though France had made no conquefts from us, yet England propofed to furrender back all the con quefts made by that power, only on condition of her making fuitable returns of the conquefts made from the emperor. His lordship remarked, that the government of France had made no reply to the memorial which had been prefented; the queftion of reciprocal compenfations had never been fairly discussed: inftead of this they required an ullimatum within twenty-four hours; and, in the very act of doing fo, they recalled the very bafis of the negociation, to which they had previonfly agreed. He would put out of view the infolence and arrogance of the language they had ufed, and content himself with obferving that their whole conduct and language difcovered, on their part, a determination to avoid all difcuffion. Thus, faid his lordship, have the government of France barred and double barred the door of negociation against you. He proceeded to illuftrate, what he called, the " immentity of our national wealth and profperity." He concluded his fpeech, by a repetition of an obfervation he had made in the outfet of it, that, at no former period of English hiftory, when negociations were broken off, as at Gertruydenburg, in the reign of queen Anne, did thofe who then oppofed the miniftry ever think of bringing forward a motion like that thing which he held in his hand. On a divifion of the houfe, the amendment, propofed by the earl of Guildford, was rejected, by 86 against 8. The earl Fitzwilliam, after a brief recapitulation of fome of the arguments he had, on fundry occafions, urged before, for irreconcileable hoftility to the French republic, moved an amendment to the ad[L4] drefs; drefs; in fubftance, reprefenting their dangerous principles, the neceffity of perfevering in the conteft in which we were at prefent engaged, and the impropriety of courting any negociation of peace with France in its prefent ftate. Lord Fitzwilliam's motion was negatived without a divifion. The order of the day, thirtieth of December, for taking into confideration his majefty's meffage, on the failure of the negociation for peace with France, in the houfe of commons, being read from the chair, Mr. Pitt rofe up, to move an addrefs to his majefty, in confequence of his moft gracious communication to that house. The motion, which it was his duty, he faid, to make on that fubject, unquestionably involved in it many great and momentous confiderations. He grievously lamented the fudden flop which had been put to that negociation, by which, we had fondly hoped, that, we should at laft have been relieved from the conteft in which, for fome time paft, we had been engaged: a conteft, into which we were forced against our will: a conteft, produced by the repeated aggreflions of an imperious enemy; a conteft, undertaken, on our part, to maintain our rights and liberties as a nation, the very exiftence of our civil and political conftitution, and the general policy and fecurity of Europe. The failure of the ncgociation, he confidered as a subject of regret and difappointment; but, he added, that it was regret without defpondency; difappointment without defpair. When we with for peace, faid he, we wish for a fecure and permanent peace, and the fecure and permanent poffeffion of thofe bleffings with which peace is 10 accompanied. If, with our ardent defire of peace, we have qualified the fieps which we have taken to procure it, by a due regard to thefe objects, we thall not find that our endeavour has been without its advantage: we shall have proved, to all Europe, to whom ambitious and unreasonable pretenfions ought to be afcribed We may expect to fee, as the refult of fuch a conduct, England united, and France divided. In this question, we fhall have to confider not only what has been the conduct of our own government, but to confider alfo the conduct of the enemy; in the manner in which our offers have been rejected, in the peremptory and abrupt manner in which the negociation has been broken off: your ambalador infulted, your propofitions rejected, and even the femblance of terms not produced in return. The two great confiderations for the houfe, Mr. Pitt obferved, were, first, what fentiments they ought to exprefs to his majefty, on the prefent occafion; and, fecondly, combining the efforts made by his majefty with the conduct adopted on the part of the enemy, what was the duty they were bound to perform, for the purpose of fecuring happiness and profperity, liberty and independence Mr. Pitt contrafted the fincerity and readiness. with which the British government had entered into the negociation, and the reasonableness of the terms they had propofed, with the backwardnefs of the French to treat at all, and the extreme arrogance, infolence, and, indeed, abfurdity, of their conduct, in fuperfeding, in a treaty with independent powers, the law and ufages of nations, by their |