altogether of all church establishment? Can you imagine any thing more likely to enrage the lords of manors, and fuch perfons, than the total confifcation of fendal property, and the extinction of feudal rights?. Thefe are the men who once unite against France, and it is from an union of these again that you look for the deliverance of Europe, as it is called." Can any thing happen to increase their abhorrence of French principles? If there can, I own I do not know what it is; and I fhall wait to be informed upon that fubject from Gentlemen on the other fide. I would ask one general question; Can you fuppofe that you will fucceed by this new confederacy in any one thing that will be of the leaft fervice to this country, for you really fhould not embark in any thing, unlefs you have a diftinct object in view? I fhould be glad to fee France driven to her former limits; I fhould be glad too if I faw her renounce her principle of ambition, and thirst for extent of territory. I am of opinion, that the fhews the badnefs of her government, by endeavouring to fpread it; and I think I fee the fad nature of her liberty by the eager nefs with which the endeavours to extend it to her foes: but can you really believe, that after having got Mantua, Luxeinburgh, and other places, that the is more easily to be driven within her ancient limits than the was before the made thefe acquisitions? Or will any man fay, that this object is to be accomplished without a great evil happening to this country; in fhort, without fuch confequences to the finances of this country, as the most fangtine calculator cannot look upon without difmay? Where is your line of demarcation to be drawn But although you are not to be the conquerors of France, but are only to reduce her to hei ancient limits, do not think that other powers will go on with you even in that object; they will not aid and affift you in reftoring to each other what has been loft; the confederacy, if it be formed, would diffolve long before that object could be accomplished. But, if you could accomplish that object, I am fure you may nevertheless adopt my motion, for there is nothing in it hoftile to that idea-there is not a fvllable in my motion which goes to prevent the powers of Europe from joining against France; but inftead of our endeavouring to extend the confederacy, we should leave them to apply to us. You fay, you will bring about the deliverance of Europe. Do not fy fo--you cannot accomplish it, and I wish you not to make fo extravagant an attempt.

Another point that may be urged, is, that my motion tends

to prevent others from fhewing their principles, and that it tends to decide upon the aggreffions of the enemy towards other powers; by which means, it may ftand in the way of the affertion of thofe rights, which lead to honourable terms of peace for this country. This appears ftrong at the first fight, but if I did not conceive there was an anfwer to it, you should not have had the trouble of hearing me this day, for I would not urge a fingle argument that could tend to impede honourable terms to this country. But the Chancellor of the Exchequer will have the goodnefs always to bear in mind, that the intereft and honour of the Briti empire, or rather the terms of peace that may favour the intereft and honour of the British empire; are points on which I will not fay a single word. I do not think it regular or decent to do fo; they are points which always ought to be left to the confideration of Minifters. I think I fhould be encroaching on the prerogative of the Crown, if I were to fay, what is and what is not for the fecurity, the honour, or the interest of the British empire. But, although I fhall abftain from any declarations of my own upon fuch topics; yet, ministers have put into his Majefty's mouth, after breaking off the conference at Life, words that are tantamount to the fpirit of my motion. His Majefty there fays nothing of the general deliverance of Europe. I do not blame the declaration on that account, on the contrary, I applaud it; and if the spirit held out on that occafion had been kept up, you would not have had the trouble of hearing me on the prefent occafion. It is, because I conceive that fuch spirit has been departed from, that I come forward with my motion. The Houfe will now be pleased to hear part of his Majefty's declaration, after the breaking up of the conference at Lille

While this determination continues to prevail, his Majesty's earnest wishes and endeavours to restore peace to his subjects must be fruitlefs. But his fentiments remain unaltered. He looks with anxious expectation to the moment when the Government of France may fhew a difpofition and spirit in any degree correfponding to his own. And he renews, even now, and before all Europe, the folemn declaration, that in fpite of repeated provecations, and at the very moment when his claims have been ftrengthened and confirmed by that fresh fuccefs which, by the blefling of Providence, has recently attended his arms, he is yet ready (if the calamities of war can now be closed) to conclude peace on the fame moderate and equitable principles and terms which he has before propoled; the rejection of fuch terms muft now, more than ever, demonftrate the implacable animofity and infatiable ambition of those with whom he has to contend, and to them alone must the future confiquences of the prolongation of the war be afcribed.

Then,

Then, Sir, I may at least afk whether I am not propofing a measure on the plan of that declaration I have laid now before you? I am not propofing any thing that fhall bind government as to terms, but I am leaving terms to government to fettle; I am anxious only to renew the spirit of a declaration, which, in my opinion, did honour to his Majefty's councils at the time it iffued. If this motion of mine is to be negatived, I think it is incumbent on thofe who oppofe it, to fhew what has altered the courfe we ought to take; for, until that be done, our fincerity in the new confederacy will be doubted and diftrufted. It will be impoffible for his Majefty's minifters to perfuade the other powers of Europe that they are endeavouring to deliver them all from the enor mity of France, until they are able to erafe the feal from the declaration, part of which I have juft been reading to the Houfe. If they depart from that declaration, they fhould ftate what it is that juftifies them for that departure. The principle of the declaration is a very good one; and if minifters adopt any other, they thould affign a reafon for fo doing. There are but two reafons that I know of that can be applicable to the cafe-one is, the aggreffion of the French in Switzerland.-No man looks at that event with more horror than I do; no man would do more, if I could do any thing effectual, to counteract it; but, remember that that aggreffion, great and iniquitous as it was, had not the charms of novelty-Remember it was the fame in the cafe of Venice A cry of Hear! Hear! Hear!] Gentlemen may prepare for another cry-I afk, does this fpirit of oppofition to the common enemy arife from any thing that is new in the courfe of aggrellion towards neutral powers? The next reafon is the victory of Admiral Nelfon; it was moft unqueftionably great, fingular, and glorious, but it should not, in my opinion, change the difpofition manifefted in that declaration I have recited, after the conference at Lifle; and it fhould be recollected that the declaration was inade after the brilliant victory of Lord Duncan. I fay that declaration at that time ought to have been revered, as I hope it was, by all Europe, fince it manifefted that even exultation and triumph did not stand in the way of his Majefty's difpofitions for peace to Europe. Am I to underland that the lalt fplendid atchievement of Lord Nelfon is to caufe a departure from thefe pacific difpofitions, which on a former occafion did fo much honour to his Majesty's councils?

The last objection I believe is, that this motion may ope

rate

rate as a notice to France, that we cannot any further ocoperate with our allies. I fay, we fhould endeavour to make an honourable peace; I do not fay what the terms are that will entitle it to that defcription; that I leave, where I think I ought to leave it, with his Majefty's ministers, but I do fay that when that is capable of being effected, I fhould be glad to hear any gentleman affign any reafon why this war fhould be continued on our part for one moment. But is it poflible for England to continue the war without co-operating with other powers? I fay you do co-operate by your naval exertions. Look at your exertions of laft year; have you not moft effectually co-operated with all who oppofed the French last year? Mott unquestionably you have. The Chancellor of the Exchequer can paint the effects of our naval triumphs much more beautifully; he can defcribe them much more eloquently than I can do. But I can defire you to look at the French marine. I can affirm with truth that no man living rejoices more than I do at our naval triumphs. I have to obferve alfo that the French trade is now nearly de ftroyed; and fpeaking from my confcience I declare, that in our naval operations we have really done wonders; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer himfelf cannot fay any thing on that point to which I am not ready to give my hearty affent. By the force of our fleet I am ready to fay that we should co-operate with other powers against France; but if by cooperation you mean the fending of troops to the continent, I here proteft against such co-operation. If you fend to any of the other powers any pecuniary affiftance whatever, either under the title of loan, fubfidy, or otherwife; in the name of the comfort, or quiet, or fafety of this country, I here proteft against it. I do not mean that you should meanly or pufillanimoufly withdraw from the conteft; I am the laft man that would council fuch withdrawing; but we have no neceffity to do fo; our courfe is marked out for us; and by purfuing it we fhall co-operate moft effectually; that is, by the exertion of our naval ftrength, as we did last year, always bearing in mind that there is not in my motion one word that tends to preventing fuch co-operation until fhall we fee an opening for peace; not a momentary ceflation of hoftilities, but a peace that fhall be confiftent with the honour, intereft, and real fecurity of the British empire.

I recollect one objection more that may be made to my motion; that it ftates that which no man will dispute, and that, therefore, it is fuperfluous to vote it, namely,

that

an

"an honourable peace is a good thing."It fhall be fo difpofed of if you please; but shall have gained for the country all I wanted if I gain a renewal of his Majefty's declaration in the year 1797. I fhould not be fatisfied if I faid much lefs, although fomething lefs I do fay, by the motion which is now before you. I ask for nothing but a renewal of the fame pacific temper which was manifefted by his Ma jefty in 1797. His Majesty's minifters are left, as they ought to be, to take care of the terms that may at any time be the refult of fuch a declaration, and they are of course, as they ought to be, to continue refponfible for the ufe they make of the power they poffefs. But perhaps fome gentlemen will anfwer me, by declaring they think this an unfavourable moment to proclaim to Europe your pacific difpo fitions-I think otherwife; and I truft no man will fay, that this is a mean attempt to fue for peace; and I certainly have no intention it should be fo conceived; for I really feel too much of the pride of an Englishman; and participate too much in the triumphs of my countrymen to fuppofe, that any fuch thing can be fufpected; but between fuing for peace, and holding out a fober language of conciliation, there is, I apprehend, a very clear difference. No man would do more than myself to avoid any check upon the national ho nour, or the national pride; but even these confiderations must keep company with others which refer to the fituation of our affairs. You fhould really look at that fituation now, and compare it with that of your fituation in 1797. Do you fee in it any thing that encourages you to proceed and perfevere in affifting others upon the continent? If gentlemen have have ever thought it worth their while to think on any thing that I have faid in this Houfe, they will do me the justice to remember that I never exaggerated or depreffed the ftatement of our finances; I always fpoke of them as I thought of them. But I muft now fay that, great and flourishing as our refources have been, our finances are now in a flate which no man who has the intereft of his country at heart can think of without anxiety. We are carrying on a war, the expence of which by eftimate is 30 millions a year; that is to fay, a war in which the expence is two millions and a half every month. In fix years you have added nearly 150 millions fterling to your debt, by which you have created the neceffity of adding to your annual burthens eight millions, a fum equal to the whole of your expenditure when his prefent Majefly afcended the throne. If I were to fay

that