at the idea of a competition with Ireland; and confequently they must be under greater apprehen fion at the idea of a rivalry with France. Mr. Pitt had always thought, and he fill continued to think, that the opinions of the manufacturers on this point had been erroneous. They raifed the clamour in respect to Ireland, chiefly, he imagined, because they perceived no certain and politive advantage in the intercourse, to balance this precarious and uncertain evil. To the commercial treaty they gave their confent, not from a blind acquiefcence, for they never would be blind to their interest; but, now that they faw fo valuable and manifest an advantage to be reaped, they were willing to hazard the probability of the injury. A fecond objection had been, that the treaty might injuriously affect our commercial treaties with other powers. In anfwer to this he must pofitively affirm, that there was no thing in it that prevented our fulleft compliance with the conditions of the Methuen treaty. By enlarging our market for wine we neither infringed upon the markets of Portugal nor of Spain. It was not pretended, that the treaty could affect our connection with any oother powers. Farther it had been objected, that no beneficial treaty could be formed between this country and France, because no fuch treaty ever had been formed, and because on the contrary a commercial intercourfe with her had always been injurious to England. This reasoning was completely fallacious. For, in the first place, during a long ferres of years we had had no commercial connection with France, and could not therefore form a rational eftimate of its merits: and, fecondly, though it

might be true, that a commercial intercourfe founded on the treaty of Utrecht would have been inju rious, it did not follow that this would prove fo. At that time the manufactures in which we now excelled had hardly existence, but were on the fide of France, inflead of being against her. Mr. Pitt felt it difficult to quit this part of his fubject, without again adverting to the effect of the treaty on our revenue, which would prove in the utmoft degree favourable, though it would caufe an average reduction of fifty per cent. upon every article in our book of rates. On French wines the reduction would be 10,000 l. per annum; on Portugal wines, fhould the Methuen treaty be continued, 170,000l. and on brandy a reduction of 20,000 1. The furrender of revenue for great commercial purposes was a policy by no means unknown in the hif tory of Britain, and was in this cafe attended with the most extraordinary advantages.

Mr. Pitt now adverted to the report of the general chamber of manufactures. They had enquired, what laws must be repealed to make room for the French treaty; and the enumeration which they had made was fingular. They had dif covered, that the aliens duty must be repealed. They had referred to ftatutes of Edward the Fourth, of Richard the Third, and Henry the Eighth, refpecting which he believed that a well founded opinion prevailed in the learned profeffion, that they were in fact no longer in exiftence. If it were not fo, he was confident that the leaders of oppofition, whofe liberal principles he would always acknowlege, would not become advocates for the continuance of thefe odious penal ftatutes. That a fet of manufacturers. fhould

fhould neglect to confider the application of the treaty to themfelves, while they wandered into the paths of legiflation and government, did not look like that apprehention for their real interefts, which they betrayed at the time of the Irish propolitions.

Mr. Pitt proceeded to confider the treaty in its political view; and here his mind revolted from the fuppofition, that any nation could be unalterably the enemy of another. It had no foundation in the experience of nations or the history of men. It was a libel on the conftitution of political focieties, and fuppofed the existence of diabolical malice in our original frame. But this abfurd tenet was now adopted; and it was added, that by this treaty the British nation was about blindly to throw itself into the arms of its conftant and uniform foe, What ground was there for this reafoning? Would the treaty deprive us of our natural watchfulnefs or our accustomed ftrength? On the contrary, as it would enrich the nation, it would alfo prove the means of enabling her to combat her enemy with more effect, when the day of hoftility fhould come. It did more than this. By promoting habits of friendly intercourfe and mutual benefit, while it invigorated the refources of Britain, it made it lefs likely, that the fhould have occafion to call forth thofe refources. That we fhould be taken unprepared for war was a matter totally diftinct from this treary. It depended in no degree upon that circumftance, but fimply upon the watchfulness and ability of the existing administration. Mr. Pitt acknowleged, that France had been the aggreffor in moft of our wars; but added, that her affurances and frankness during the pre

fent negociation were fuch, as in his opinion entitled her to fome confidence. When he recollected the whole of the late dreadful war, he could deduce arguments from it, to reconcile the prefent conduct of France with more equitable and candid principles of policy, than oppofition was willing to allow, When the perceived, that in that arduous conteft, in which it might truly be faid that we were strugg ling for our existence, we not only faved our honour, but manifested the folid, he might almost be tempted to fay, the inexhaustible refources of the land; reflecting, that, though the had gained her object in difmembering our empire, the had done it at an expence which had funk her in the extremeft embarraffment, might it not be believed, that he would eagerly with to try the benefits of an amicable connection with us? It was ridiculous to imagine, that the French would confent to yield advantages without the idea of a return. The treaty would be a benefit to them; but he did not helitate to deliver his firm opinion, in the eyes of France, and during the pendency of the bufiness, that, though advantageous to her, it would be more fo to us. She gained for her wines and her other productions a great and opulent market; we did the fame to a much greater degree. She procured a market of eight millions of people; we a market of twenty-four millions. France gained this market for her produce, which employed few hands in the preparation, gave little encouragement to navigation, and af forded little to the fate. We gained this market for our manufac tures, which employed many hun. dred thousand of our countrymen; which, in collecting the materials from every corner of the world, adD. 3

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vanced our maritime ftrength, and in every article and itage or its progrefs contributed largely to the state. France could not gain the acceffion of 100,000 l. to her revenue; England must neceffarily gain 1,000,000 1. The high price of labour in England arofe chiefly from the excife; and three fifths of the price of labour were faid to come into the exchequer. Even the reduced duties were proportionably fo high, that France could not fend us 500,00ol. value of brandies, but we must gain cent per cent by the article. It was in the nature and effence of an agreement between a manufacturing country, and a country bleffed with peculiar productions, that the advantages inuft terminate in favour of the former. But both of them were particularly difpofed and prepared for the connection. France by the peculiar difpenfation of providence was gifted, perhaps more than any other country upon earth, with what made life defirable, in point of foil, climate, and natural productions; in the most fertile vineyards and the richest, harvefts. Britain was not thus bleffed by nature; but, poffeffing the happy freedom of its conftitution, and the equal Lecurity of its laws, it had rifen to a ftate of commercial grandeur, and acquired the ability of fupplying its neighbour with the requifite embellishments of life, in exchange for her natural luxuries.

The perfons who principally undertook to answer the arguments of Mr. Pitt, were Mr. Fox and Mr. Francis; and, though the (peech of Mr. Fox was unqueftionably most replete with forcible argument, with an intimate knowlege of his fubject, and with brilGiant flashes of eloquence, yet are we reduced to the neceffity, as it

frequently happens to the historian? of dwelling chiefly upon the argu ments of Mr. Francis, because that gentleman was at the pains of preferving his very able and judicious harangue through the medium of the prefs. He difcuffed the merits of the treaty with France under four heads: as it related to commerce, to revenue, to the naval and the political interests of this country.

The

What he faw upon the face of the treaty was dangerous and deftructive to its profefled object; but its real and infallible tendency firuck him with the highest fufpicion, jealoufy and terror. favourite argument in favour of an open trade with France was founded on a general prefumption, that our manufacturers poffeffed a greater skill in the execution and finishing of whatever they undertook; as if there were fomething in the nature of our Gallic neighbours, fome difficulty inherent in their climate or conftitution, which rendered them incapable of arriving at à fimilar fkill. The examples, which had been infifted on, of our woollen and cotton manufactures, appeared to Mr. Francis to be unfortunately felected. France was in poffeffion of the Spanish wool, could import it on terms infinitely easier than we could, and might by her influence exclude us from any fhare of it, whenever fhe faw fit. In fact the French had improved their manufacture of cloth to fuch a perfection, that they had beaten our Turkey company out of the market which we formerly had in the Levant for that article, and had engroffed it to themfelves. The propofition therefore, which affirmed, that we fhould find a market in France itself, greater than that of Portugal and all her colo

nie, was not only unfupported by proof, but was abfolutely abfurd.

well meant, though ineffe@ual, endeavour, to favour the English manufacture; but the cafe was directly the reverfe; and Mr. Francis was well informed, that above two thirds of the laces fold for the manufacture of Buckinghamshire were in reality French, fmuggled by the English manufacturer, roll, ed upon English cards, and fold by them as the produce of their own labour. With respect to the revenue in general there was a fingular contraft between the language and the proceedings of the chancellor of the exchequer. He declared, that the finances of the country were in a molt flourishing condition, and that there was a real, effective, and unquestionable furplus to the amount of a million per annum. From what caufe could a ftate of fasts, fo extraordinary, and fo full of confolation and encou ragement to this country, be fup. pofed to arife? It could proceed from nothing, but that long esta blifhed, wife and fuccefsful fyftem of commerce, which the prefent treaty with France was intended to fubvert. We acknowleged and infifted upon the benefits and profits of a commercial fyftem, at the very moment when we were going to a bandon it.

With refpect to the contraband trade, which the treaty profefied to annihilate, it in reality effected the very reverfe. It abolished the hovering act, hitherto understood to be the principal defence of the revenue, and fecurity to the fair trader. French veffels of any fize or conftruction might now approach and fail along our coaft at any diftance they thought proper, and remain as long as they pleafed. As the law ftood at prefent, on a difcovery of any contraband goods, the fhip and cargo were forfeited; but by this treaty nothing, but the fpecific article prohibited, was liable to confifcation. As to the mere exportation and fale of our manufactures, confidered by itself, and abstractedly from the protection due to the fair trader, and the care of the revenue, it was nearly the fame thing to any country, whether the exportation were performed by law ful or unlawful means. The amount of the goods now fmuggled, was to be fet against the future exportation, and our real gain confifted only in the difference between them. The improvement of the revenue by the fuppreffion of fmuggling was an object of great utility. But here Mr. Francis faw caufe for fufpicion and diftruit, whether the intention to purfue that object was fincere. The obfervations of Mr. Pitt on the fubject of cambrics were well founded; but why was the operation of fo just a principle to be confined to cambric? For what reafon was the prohibition of French laces continued? A reafon had been fuggefted for this inconfiftent conduct, in the partiality of the minister to the manufacturers of Buckinghamshire. At first fight this might appear a

With refpect to the naval part of the question it was to be confi dered, that the certain effect, if not the acknowleged principle of the treaty, was to fubftitute a very near commercial market in the place of a remote one; or at least to prefer the former to the latter. Now what was the immediate operation of fuch a fubftitution? A commer cial intercourfe with France would be carried on by short trips, and by feamen, perhaps even by landmen, who neither wanted much experience, nor could poffibly gain any

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in fuch a navigation. The whole of it would be performed by fkippers, fmugglers, and packet-boats, and just as easily by the French as the English,

With a view to the general policy of the treaty the meafure was alarming indeed. If every other objection to it on every other ground were answered or abandoned, its obvious political tendency would be fufficient to condemn it in the mind of every man, who was anxious for the honour, the virtue, and the freedom of Great Britain. To illuftra e this point Mr. Francis alluded to an incident in his own life. He had early had the good fortune to hold a place, inconfiderable indeed, but immediately under the late earl of Chatham, who had honoured him with repeated marks of his favour and protection. In the year 1760 Mr. fecretary Pitt recommended it to the late king, to fend the earl of Kinnoul ambaffador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the court of Lisbon; and the fame recommendation engaged that nobleman to appoint Mr. Francis his fecretary. The real, though not the oftenfible object of this embaffy, was the difcution of various infractions of treaty, and fundry grievances to which our merchants refiding in that country were expofed. While this negociation was depending, the marquis de Pombal furprifed lord Kinnoul with a declaration, that, from various appearances, he was convinced, that the court of France had determined to come to an open rupture with Portugal, and a request, upon the fuppofition of that event, to know whether they might depend upon the vigorous fupport of his Britannic majefty. In this cafe Mr. fecretary Pitt difdained to fuffer any commercial complaint, any

grievance or momentary intereft to be mixed with a question of policy, and inftantly forwarded a declaration, "that the king would always contider the defence of Portugal, as an object dear to the honour and welfare of his crown, and the first in rank immediately after the dominions of Great Britain herself." One would have thought, that, if the minister of the day knew nothing of the true policy, or however he might defpife the ancient maxims of his country, he would at leaft have refpected the example, though he had not been in@ructed by the leffons of paternal authority. But we were grown wiser than our venerable ancestors, and the wifdom of the fon was now to correct the errors of his father's age and ex, perience.

One of the oldeft maxims in our language afferted, that evil communication corrupted good manners. Mr. Francis conceived, that this maxim might be beneficially applied to the point in queftion; and it was his deliberate convic tion, that the nearer the two nations were drawn into contact, and the more fuccefsfully they were invited to mingle with each other, in the fame proportion the remaining morals, principles, and vigour of the English national mind would be enervated and corrupted. We fhould be civilized out or our virtue, and polifhed out of our character. He, whose ultimate purpofe was to enflave a free people, always began by endeavouring to corrupt them; and, whether fuch were the defign of the prefent administration or not, the road they followed could lead to no other object.

It was faid that the French and the English were not natural enemies; and Mr. Francis admitted,

that