induce him to continue the war, we ought to know whether he conceived himself bound not to make peace without our confent. If he was not bound, it was then a queftion how far minifters had confented to his attempt to procure a feparate peace. It was further neceffary to have a previous knowledge, whether he would not be compelled to fuch a measure,and the more from the unfortunate experience in other fubfidiary treaties. Mr. Pitt thought the houfe bound to accede to the meafure, both in point of prudence and honour, from the uniform honour and fidelity of the Sardinian monarch. He denied that this monarch had ever manifested a defire for a feparate peace, and affirmed that he had merely in a moment of impending danger ftated to the enemy that he would enter into an armistice in conjunction with the emperor, but upon no other conditions. To this, however, the emperor had not acceded, and the negotiation finifhed. During this intercourfe, Mr. Pitt ftated, the enemy had acquainted his Sardinian majesty that they would make a feparate peace with him, provided he would cede their conquefts in his dominions, and unite with them. This, however, with a magnanimity which could never be too highly praised, he had refufed.

Mr. Francis obferved that it was not neceffary to confider how Sardinia had acted four months ago, but what her fituation and probable mode of acting now was. Upon the recent fucceffes of the French in Lombardy, muft the mode of action of his Sardinian majefty be founded. If the determinations of his Sardinian majefty were founded, as had been ftated, upon the preffure of the enemy, it

was reasonable to conclule that he would confider the emergency, more than his magnaninity. He ridiculed the idea of coniding in the magnanimity of the king of Sardinia in fuch an exigence, and appealed to hiftory for the character of the houfe of Savoy, which had changed fides as ofte as its intereft or inclination prevailed.

It was remarked by the fecretary at war, and by Mr. Pitt, that the vote of the prefent evening only enabled his majefty to grant the fubfidy if neceffary; and the fecond reading was agreed to without a divifion.

In'a fucceeding debate on this fubject, Mr. Jekyll, after noticing the rapid fucceffes of the French in Italy, inquired whether the money voted as a fubfidy to the king of Sardinia was to be paid to him on that fcore. He thought it idle to call that a fubfidy, of which co-operation was not the fruit. If the money voted by parliament was an eleemofynary gift, the houfe ought to know it; and the people who were drained of fuch immenfe fums for foreign princes, who had one by one deferted them, fhould know in what manner this was to be applied. Mr. Pitt, in reply, ftated that it could not be fuppofed, whatever was the final ftate of events, that the fubfidy would be continued after the feceffion of his Sardinian majefty; but, upon being further preffed by Mr. Jekyll to itate whether the fubfidy would be with-held till the reports respecting the king of Sardinia were authenticated, declined a reply, and moved for the order of the day.

On the 10th of May, a very im portant motion was brought forward in both houfes of parliament, refpefting a change of fyllem in regard to external politics. That

in the houfe of lords was moved by the earl of Guildford, who noticed the public embarrasment in confequence of the war, and the manner in which it had been conducted, and the duty and neceffity of attending to the conduct of minifters. The fyftem which had prodered fo much mifery to the country, ought, he observed, to be completely done away, and a new one adopted, before any benefit could be expected. Little hopes of profperity could indeed arife, till minifters were perfuaded they ought to undo all they had done, and retract every step they had taken in this abfurd and ruinous conteft. While it was agreed that peace was neceffary to our existence, it was melancholy that we had fo little chance of obtaining one that was fafe and honourable, while the fame men were allowed to purfue the fame fyftem. Having, the laft feffion, attempted unfuccefsfully to convince the houfe of this, he lamented the neceffity of advancing ftale and hackneyed topics, fuch as the conduct of the war,-the incurring it when it might have been avoided, by the treatment of M. Chauvelin, the neglect to make peace after re-taking the greatft part of Auftrian Flanders, and when we had Valenciennes in our own hands. His lordship ably difcuffed thefe topics, the different pretexts for entering into the war,-and the lofs to the country of 50,000 lives, and above 50 millions of money. The existence of a republic in France was, he faid, urged as inconfiftent with the fafety of Britain. When Holland was protected, and the Netherlands reftored, furely every proper aid was granted that Great Britain pretended to interfere for. But wild thoughts, and heated imaginations, had then led minifters

to think of not making peace till they reached the gates of Paris. The defeats and difgraces that enfued were well known, the proud confederacy against France diffolved,-and whether we were duped by our allies, or whether we deceived them, was still a question. His lordfhip reprobated the encouragement given by this country to the war in La Vendée, and its fatal effects upon the Weft-India expedition. If the change of government in France was to prevent peace, he thought this prevention might laft for ever. He took a review of the effects of the war on our internal fituation, the legal reftrictions to which it had given rife in the Habeas Corpus and Alien bills,—the dreadful effect of the war on our finances already, the fatal confequence of the expences of another campaign, - and the injury to trade. He cenfured the long delay between his majefty's meffage and any attempt to treat for peace, and the mode of treating with Mr. Barthelemi as an awkward attempt. The whole, he said, fhewed that it had been the latent motive of minifters all along to deceive parliament, and delude Europe. The refources of the country were, he thought, confolatory, but they might certainly be pushed too far; and warned minifters of the great evils of an unlimited export of money. His lordfhip concluded by defiring his motion to be read, which was for an addrefs to his majefty, ftating the opinion of the houfe refpecting the conduct of minifters in the prefent war, and afcribing the embarraffments of the nation to their mifmanagement; and urging the probability of their continuance and encrease, if the fame principle fhould ftill prevail in the British councils- reminding his

majefty

majefty of the unparalleled profperity of the country at the commencement of the war, and adverting to the dignity and advantage which might have refulted to the nation from mediating between instead of joining the belligerent powers. The addrefs proceeded to notice the flimfy pretexts which had been pleaded by minifters for entering into the war; their entire rejection of every propofal for an amicable adjustment of differences by negotiation; and in anfwer to the plea, that the French were the first to declare war, remarked that it was impoffible to deny, that the power which fhuts up the channel of negotiation must be the real aggreffor in war; and to this bar to negotiation the rupture which followed might be attributed, that the pretences under which minifters then haughtily refufed to communicate, have fince been expofed by their fubmitting to a fimilar intercourfe with the French government, -that the mifguided policy which had rendered the war inevitable, appeared to have actuated minifters to continue it at all hazards, and

that their obstinacy in its continuance was not more remarkable than their verfatility in the pretexts for its juftification. The ftrength, the weakness, the fucceffes, the mifchances of the enemy, or of the allies, had been all urged as motives for continuing the war. The original objects attained, new ones were inftituted, the overtures made by the enemy, even when the circumstances of France were eminently favourable to his majesty and the allies, were rejected unheard, though there was every reafon to hope that a negotiation, if then commenced, might have terminated in an honourable peace, It fur

ther infifted that minifters had perfifted in a war which could fcarce have any remaining object but that of impofing upon France a government difapproved by the inhabitants of that country; yet, unable to frame a wife fyftem of policy, they rejected the advantages that belonged to their own unfortunate fcheme. Their defign to interpofe in the internal government of France was too manifeft not to provoke the national zeal of that people; but their projects were too equivocal to attract the confidence, or procure the co-operation of even the difaffected French.-That the houfe begged leave to reprefent to his majefty, that many opportunities for a favourable pacification had been loft by minifters, and that from this neglect (of which the addrefs produced feveral inftances) the progress of hoftilities had only ferved to establish the evils which might have been avoided by nego tiation, but which were now confirmed by the events of war, and for the prevention of which it was avowedly undertaken. That the houfe had felt the fincereft fatisfaction from the message which had given them the hopes of a negotiation for peace; but now experienced great forrow from obferving, that three months had elapfed before any overtures had been made to this effect; and that, when taken, minifters, fo far from conciliating the French, ftudioufly avoided every acknowledgment of the republic, and the minifter through whom the overture was made, was inftructed to declare that he had no authority to enter into any dif cuffion of the terms of the propofed treaty. That the manner in which it was broken off afforded a very unfavourable comment on the reluctance of minifters to enter into

it, and was calculated to make a bad impreffion refpecting their fincerity on the people of France; that, on a review of many inftances of grofs mifconduct, proceeding from the fame pernicious principles, the houfe thought itself bound in duty to his majesty, and their conftituents, to declare that they faw no rational hope of redeeming the affairs of the kingdom, but by the adoption of a fyftem radically different from that which had produced the prefent calamities. The addrefs concluded with a very fpirited philippic against the conduct of minifters.

The motion was warmly object ed to, not only on account of the nature of the business, but of the great variety of matter it contained, by the lords Sydney, Carlifle, Carnarvon, and Mulgrave. Lord Hawkesbury recapitulated the arguments in favour of the war being unavoidable on our part, and provoked by the wanton aggreffion of the enemy. He denied that any difpofition to make peace had been hewn on the part of France after the furrender of Valenciennes; he dwelt upon the folicitude fhewn by the French directory to avoid the title of king in their answer to the ambaffador of the Spanish monarch. With refpect to the negotiation which had been fo much reprobated, he faid, the only poffible way of negotiating under fuch circumftances was, to authorize Mr. Wickham merely to put the only queftions which could be put to a powerful enemy: "Are you willing to treat for peace on fair and honour able terms? and what are the terms? Will you confent to a congrefs for the negotiation of the pacificatory terms" and "Is there any other mode you like better?" Mr. Barthelemi was, his lordship ftated, a

man of fuch refined addrefs, fo well fitted for the diplomatic art, that he would have wormed out of Mr. Wickham all his purposes without in the leaft committing himself, and it would have been made a handle against negotiating. The anfwer of the directory clearly evinced they had no real defire for peace: the only way left, therefore, was a vigorous profecution of the war.

The duke of Grafton fupported the motion; reprobated the principle and conduct of the war, and thought peace would not be obtained under the prefent adminifiration, as they had manifeftly wifhed the utter deftruction of the French republic; and therefore, were they even to obtain peace, the people would not be brought to believe otherwife than that it might. have been concluded on more advantageous terms by lefs obnoxious men. His grace adverted to the clofe of the American war, when the attorney and folicitor general had fet a precedent for unfaying what had been faid, and undoing what had been done, when the retraction was of ufe to the country. He lamented the ftrides, which he thought endangered the conftitution and the monarchy itself; the introduction of a military government, which threatened annihilation to the liberties of the people; and the arbitrary controul that minifters had obtained by the prevention of remonftrances to the throne.

The motion was further refifted by the lord prefident, and earl Fitzwilliam, and replied to, in an animated fpeech, by lord Grenville. He regarded it, he faid, in the light of a pamphlet, intended not to confine its operation to that house, but meant for the public. His lordship juftified the war in every stage, and vindicated

vindicated the conduct of minifters in every point on which they were arraigned. The conduct of the French rendered war unavoidable; and, with refpect to concluding peace when Holland and the Netherlands were safe, that was under the tyranny of Robespierre. He difclaimed the idea of our only Lafety confifting in a bellum ad internecionem, but thought the deftruction of the republic an event favourable to the interefts of both countries: this was not, however, neceflary to a peace. His lordship noticed the fluctuations in the French government, which prevented a confidence in their stability even at present, and dwelt upon the dishonour of making any terms feparate from our allies. Mr. Wickham was, his lordship faid, certainly not authorized to negotiate, nor was there an inftance of a perfon thus authorized in the first inftance. He contended for the entire ability of the prefent ministers to conclude a peace: the parallel, refpecting unfaying what had been faid, was carried further than it would go; and the answer given by Mr. Barthelemi to the note of Mr. Wickham, difcovered that the prefent orators of the republic retained the ambitious pretenfions of their predeceffors. The intention of minifters to re-establish the old French monarchy was denied by the earl of Mansfield, who, however, thought that meafure not only juftifiable in this country, but the moft calculated for the happinefs of France and of all Europe.

The motion was ably vindicated by the marquis of Lanfdowne, who avowed that he had frequently witnessed a variety of motions open to the fame objections. No intereft peculiarly British, his lordship faid, called upon us to continue the 1796.

war, fince we were already in poffeffion of nearly all that British avidity could defire; and what was there upon the continent to induce us to perfevere? "The good faith of our allies, and the punctual difcharge of our engage ments," was a language that coft us many millions, for which we had little or no return. National honour could not indeed be maintained too high: but what fecurity of reciprocity had we? His lordfhip entered into a review of the fituation of Auftria, to fhew the probability of the emperor being compelled to a feparate peace. Perfeverance in war was, indeed, likely to be ruinous both to that country and this. Another motive ftated by his lordship for the neceffity of peace, was, that if both were driven to extremities, the relative fituation of the two countries would be, that the price of labour in the one would probably be free from impofition, and, in the other, loaded with fuch a mafs of taxes, as muft ruin comparatively both trade and manufactures. The principles that the war had been intended to prevent the diffemination of, were, his lordship contended, much more widely dif fufed by that very measure, and, in fact, were in no place more the objects of general attention, if report might be relied on, than in the electorate of Hanover. With refpect to the practicability of obl taining peace, he ftrongly fufpected that there muft have been many openings, not probably in thè way of official queftions and anfwers, which might certainly have led to fo defirable an event, had they met with a correfponding in clination on our part. That this inclination had, as was stated, been manifefted by the note of Mr.

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