part to listen to the propofitions now rejected by her, or to any other fpecific propofal of indemnity or political fecurity, but upon the arrogant and infulting pretence, that her government was not capable of maintaining the accuftomed relations of peace and amity amongft nations, and that, on this unfounded and merely fpeculative affumption, his majefty was advised to continue the war to a period when the difficulties in the way of peace have been fo much increased, by the defect of most of the powers engaged in the confederacy, and by the conquefts and confequent pretenfions of the French republic.

"That this houfe, having thus humbly fubmitted to his majefty the reflections which his majefty's gracious communication immediately fuggeft, feel themfelves in duty bound, for the information of his majefty, and the fatisfaction of an exhausted people, to proceed, with unremitting diligence, to inveftigate the causes which have produced our prefent calamities, and to offer fuch advice as the critical and alarming circumstance of the nation may require."

Mr. Dundas, at the fame time that he charged Mr. Fox with availing himself of his fituation, as a member of that houfe, to plead the cause of the enemy, yet allowed that his amendment was unequivocal, fair, and open. He called upon the members to make a declaration, that they believed the miniftry to have been infincere in the late negociation for peace. Upon that iffue he, for his own part, would call on the members, as honeft men, to give their opinion, whether they thought that minifters bad omitted any measures that

might have procured peace with the country. He agreed that the expence of the war was great, but confidered our fuccefs as equal to it. The emperor's and our fituation were thrown into a common stock. We were willing to relinquish our acquifitions from the French, to pro cure for his Imperial majefty the restoration of the territories he had loft. With refpect to the poffeffions of Holland, in our hands, which were particularly connected with his fhare in the administration, and of the vaft importance of which he had spoken on former occafions, it was his wish to keep both the Cape and Ceylon, but never his defign to take from the Dutch their trade to the Cape; which was all that they were now capable of holding with advantage to themfelves: for, as to the actual poffeffion of the place, they were too weak to keep it. He appealed to the old French monarchy, for the truth of the af fertion, that one acre of land in the Auftrian Netherlands is equal in value to a whole province of France. And this he did, that the house might fee how neceflary it was for his majefty to demand, as a condition of peace, that they fhould be restored to France. Facts would beft fhew which party had been. wanting in a real defire to promote peace. Did the French, in any period, come forward to negociate, and were refufed by us? If this had been the cafe, the backwardnefs of minifters to pacification must have been admitted; but the contrary was the truth: we had regularly ufed every means, from the note of Mr. Wickham, at Baffe, to the late miffion of lord Malmef bury, to bring about so desirable an event, without fuccefs.

ceived at the requeft of the inhabitants, who had defired to be taken under the protection of his Britannic majefty. Mr. Fox concluded his fpeech with moving, as an amendment to the addrefs, that, after the words "returning his majefty thanks for his gracious meffage," there be inferted the following:

"That this houfe has learnt, with inexpreffible concern, that the negociation, his majefty lately commenced, for the restoration of peace, has been unhappily fruftrated.

"In fo awful and momentous a crifis, the house of commons feel it their duty to speak to his majesty, with that freedom and earneftnefs which becomes men anxious to preferve the honour of his majesty's crown, and to fecure the interefts of his people. That, in doing this, they fincerely deplore, that they are under the neceffity of declaring, that, as well from the manner in which the late negociation has been conducted, as from the fubftance of the memorial, which appears to have produced the abrupt termination of it, they have reafon to think his majesty's minifters were not fincere in their endeavours to procure the bleffings of peace, fo neceflary for this diftreffed country; and that all profpect of pacification feems intirely removed from their view: for, on the one hand, his majesty's minifters infift upon the reftoration of the Netherlands to the emperor, as a fine qua non, from which they have pledged his majefty not to recede; while, on the other, the executive directory of the French republic, with equal pertinacity, claim the prefervation of that part of their conqueft, as a condition from which they cannot depart.

"That, under these circum

ftances, this houfe cannot help fa menting the rafhnefs and injuftice of his majefty's minifters, whose long-continued misconduct has produced this embarraffing fituation, by advifing his majesty, before the bleffing of peace had been unfortunately interrupted, to refuse alf negociation for the adjustment of the then fubfifting differences, although, at that time, the Netherlands, now the main obftacle to the return of tranquillity, fo far from being confidered as an object of conteft, was folemnly renounced, and the peace of Europe offered into his majefty's hands, upon the bafis of that renunciation, and upon the fecurity and independence of Holland, whilft the preserved her neutrality towards France.

"That this houfe has farther deeply to regret that, foon after the commencement of the war, when, by the vigour of his majesty's arms, with the affiftance of thofe of his allies, the republic of Holland had been refcued from invafion, and the greateft part of the Netherlands. had been recovered by the emperor; at a time, too, when most of the princes of Europe, with refources yet unexhaufted, continued firm in their alliance with Great Britain, his majesty's minifters did not avail themselves of this high and commanding pofition, for the negociation of an honourable peace, and the establishment of the political balance of Europe; that, on the contrary, without any example in the principles and practices of this or any other nation, it is with pain this houfe recollects, his majesty's minifter refused to set on foot any negociation whatsoever with the French republic, not upon a real or even alleged unwillingness on his

part

part to listen to the propofitions now rejected by her, or to any other fpecific propofal of indemnity or political fecurity, but upon the arrogant and infulting pretence, that her government was not capable of maintaining the accustomed relations of peace and amity amongst nations, and that, on this unfounded and merely fpeculative affumption, his majefty was advised to continue the war to a period when the difficulties in the way of peace have been fo much increased, by the defect of most of the powers engaged in the confederacy, and by the conquefts and confequent pretenfions of the French republic.

"That this houfe, having thus humbly fubmitted to his majefty the reflections which his majefty's gracious communication immediately fuggeft, feel themselves in duty bound, for the information of his majefty, and the fatisfaction of an exhaufted people, to proceed, with unremitting diligence, to investigate the causes which have produced our prefent calamities, and to offer fuch advice as the critical and alarming circumstance of the nation may require."

Mr. Dundas, at the fame time that he charged Mr. Fox with availing himfelf of his fituation, as a member of that houfe, to plead the caufe of the enemy, yet allowed that his amendment was unequivocal, fair, and open. He called upon the members to make a declaration, that they believed the miniftry to have been infincere in the late negociation for peace. Upon that iffue he, for his own part, would call on the members, as honeft men, to give their opinion, whether they thought that minifters had omitted any measures that

might have procured peace with the country. He agreed that the expence of the war was great, but confidered our fuccefs as equal to it. The emperor's and our fituation were thrown into a common stock, We were willing to relinquish our acquifitions from the French, to pro cure for his Imperial majefty the restoration of the territories he had loft. With refpect to the poffeffions of Holland, in our hands, which were particularly connected with his fhare in the administration, and of the vaft importance of which he had spoken on former occafions, it was his wish to keep both the Cape and Ceylon, but never his defign to take from the Dutch their trade to the Cape; which was all that they were now capable of holding with advantage to themselves: for, as to the actual poffeffion of the place, they were too weak to keep it. He appealed to the old French monarchy, for the truth of the af fertion, that one acre of land in the Auftrian Netherlands is equal in value to a whole province of France. And this he did, that the house might fee how necellary it was for his majefty to demand, as a condition of peace, that they fhould be restored to France. Facts would beft fhew which party had been. wanting in a real defire to promote peace. Did the French, in any period, come forward to negociate, and were refufed by us? If this had been the cafe, the backwardnefs of minifters to pacification must have been admitted; but the contrary was the truth: we had regularly ufed every means, from the note of Mr. Wickham, at Basse, to the late miffion of lord Malmef bury, to bring about fo defirable an event, without fuccefs.

Mr. Grey faid, that the fundamental evil, from whence all our misfortunes flowed, was, that peace never had been the real object of those who carried on the war. They went upon a fyftem of extermination, which fo irritated our enemies, that there was danger of our never having peace. Having taken a review of lord Malmesbury's letter to lord Grenville, he contended that M. de la Croix's propofition, of offering an equivalent to the emperor, for the Netherlands, in the fecularization of, the three ecclefiaftical electorates, and feveral bishopricks in Germany and Italy, might be confidered as an offer of terms of peace, or contre projet, and ought to have been attended to. However we might wish for the reftoration of the Netherlands to the emperor, they were not to be regained by force. He confidered the propofition, in the late negociation, of retaining the most important poffeffions of our former ally, Holland, as a moft profligate trait in the late negociation. The offer of reftoring Martinico and Pondicherry only, (for St. Lucia and Tobago were to be kept as an equivalent for our fuppofed claims on St. Domingo) for all the conquefts made by France on the emperor, was a moft extravagant propofition.

On a divifion of the house, Mr. Fox's amendment was rejected by 21 against 37. The original addrefs was, of course, carried by an equal majority.

The general folicitude for peace, which prevailed at this time, being,

The extracts quoted were these :

The earl of Oxford was not deterred, by this defeat of the oppofition, on the queftion of peace, and the means and conditions of obtaining it, from making a fecond attempt for the fame end, trufting that a material change must have been produced in the mind of parliament by the general alarm, ftill waxing greater and greater, in all parts of the country. His lordship, on the twenty-third of March, called the attention of the house of lords to a motion, of which he had given notice fome time before, on this fubject. Peace, he said, was demanded by the voice of the country; and he was perfuaded, that it might be obtained if fought with a fincere and honeft intention. The government and people of France, he was convinced, were not less difpofed than ourselves to enter into an amicable negociation. He then read fome extracts from the correfpondence between Mr. Wickham and M. Barthelemi; and the register of the decrees of the executive directory, which lay upon their lordships table; upon which he grounded his opinion, that the French directory are inclined to make peace.* His conclufion from the whole was, that the directory

was

any