would doubtless lay before the House their reasons for being of that opinion, and then it would be for the House to decide upon their validity and force.

Mr. Fox, after making these cursory remarks, returned to his original position, and in glowing terms expressed his satisfaction at the system of measures lately adopted. He said, that whether Government had adopted those measures with respect to the United Provinces sufficiently soon, or whether they ought to have adopted them earlier, were matters of opinion; but he was extremely glad to find that they had at length embraced them, and he hoped when we should have connected ourselves with the United Provinces by a solid and substantial treaty, to which he could not but with reasonable expectation look forward, since the interest of each power was one and the same; that the Government would pursue the idea of taking the most effectual steps to preserve the balance of power, and carry it into execution with regard to other European states and countries. He said, he did not approve of the conduct of those statesmen, who, in order to exert their political influence in foreign courts, resorted to indirect and concealed practices, by fomenting factions and cabals. But unworthy as those means were, and illaudable in themselves as they must be acknowledged to be, so long as it was notorious that they were constantly resorted to by other powers, and most especially by the court of France, it became the duty of British ministers to endeavour to counteract her purposes in the same secret way in which she endeavoured to effect them, and therefore he wished the word forcible' had not been used in the Speech by way of qualifying the mention of the interference of France. So far from the forcible interference' of that court in the affairs of the republic of the United Provinces, being the sole interference that it behoved this country to counteract, every sort of interference, open or concealed, ought to be counteracted by us; and consequently, had the word interference' stood alone, and the meaning been generally expressed, in his mind, the sentence would have been more proper and applicable.

His noble colleague (lord Hood) had seemed to think that war was not so distant as might be imagined. He could not, Mr. Fox said, see any reason for despondency. So far from it, the recent events [VOL. XXVI. ]

had shown that France was, in point of finance, in so imbecile a state, as well as in other particulars, that it was not in her power to break with us; and if, with all her natural and various means of recruiting herself on an emergency, and of suddenly obtaining resources, she would not engage in a war, when such an important prize as the possession of Holland was at stake; he was pretty well persuaded that she would not quarrel with this country for some time at least, or on a slight punctilio. But the best means to insure the continuance of peace was, to add to our strength, rather than trust to the weakness of our oldest and most inveterate rival. Let us enlarge the number of our alliances, insure the co-operation of other powers in the hour of attack, improve our marine, cherish and preserve it and all that belonged to that favourite service, and we might then consider the ambition of the House of Bourbon, its imbecility, or its power, as matters of equally trifling consideration. Mr. Fox here took occasion to compliment those who had the direction of naval affairs in their choice of an officer to command the grand fleet, the most important division of our maritime force. He reminded the House, that the ministry of which he had the honour to be one, had nominated the same officer to the command of the West India squadron in 1782, and that a good deal of slur had been cast on the nomination by those who at that time thought fit to question the propriety of the appointment, and to declare that officer unfit to hold the command. The recent appointment of the same officer to a still higher command, proved that the opinion he had ever entertained of the merits of admiral Pigot was not peculiar to himself, that the slur formerly cast on his administration, for having appointed the admiral to the command of the West India squadron was unmerited, and that the persons at present at the head of the Admiralty thought as highly of that officer's character and professional talents, as he, and those connected with him, had done. Mr. Fox repeated his declaration, that the substance of the Address had his hearty approbation and concurrence; and having applauded it for leaving all the other considerations to which he had alluded, as matters of reference to be discussed on a future day, and by that means avoided pledging the House to points that it was impossible for them to [4 L]

decide upon without farther information, remarked, that he should vote in favour of it with the most unequivocal sincerity. Mr. Pitt observed, that his satisfaction at discovering the unanimity of the House upon the present occasion, although great, did not exceed his expectations; because he considered the Address as one concerning which, taking into view the substance of the Speech, and the circumstances in which the country stood, it might fairly be said that such matters had occurred as almost precluded the least difference of opinion. He admitted the candour of the right hon. gentleman, and heartily subscribed to his construction of the Address, and to his idea of the extent to which it carried the House, which, as the right hon. gentleman had stated it, went no farther than a general approbation of the interference of this country in the dissentions of the United Provinces, circumstanced as that republic was, with respect to France, and a congratulation of his Majesty on the event of that interference. With regard to any thing farther the Address was perfectly silent; nor did it express any opinion whatever on such particular topics as might become the subjects of future separate discussion. Nor could the right hon. gentleman be more averse than he was, to any that could tend to tie up the discretion of Parliament, or pledge it to the adoption or approbation of any system of politics whatsoever, except on a fair and direct examination of the particular subject itself, and not by implications drawn from opinions delivered on general questions and abstract considerations. Still, he declared, he was by no means less anxious than the right hon. gentleman for the time in which the several particular topics, which might arise out of the grand object of parliamentary attention, namely, the recent events which had put this country into its present desirable situation, should come to be debated. He was convinced that whatever credit Administration might have gained from the general result of their operations, it would suffer no abatement from an investigation of the particular steps which had led to that result. At present, however, he should not deviate from the example of the right hon. gentleman who had so very prudently avoided any particular discussion of that sort; for besides that he entirely approved of the principle on which the right hon. gentleman had de

clined entering into particulars, he should be sorry to introduce matter that might, in any degree, lead to discussions likely to overturn that unanimity which so fortu nately prevailed on the present occasion. And as the right hon. gentleman had given so firm a pledge of his sincerity in the general principles he had laid down; principles perfectly congenial to his own sentiments, and, he believed, to those of all who rightly understood the interests of this country; but which the right hon. gentleman had laid down as if they had been exclusively his own, and which, in so doing, he had bound himself by the most powerful ties to maintain and support; he should not weaken those ties by endeavouring to deprive the right hon. gentleman of whatever degree of complacency he might feel from the idea of his exclusive right to the honour of first bringing them forward, nor attempt to make him less in love with them than be appeared to be at present, by assuming to himself an equal honour in having long since adopted, and been governed by similar principles, even in the course of the several transactions which had recently taken place. He should, however, say a few words on some parts of the right hon. gentleman's speech; not so much with a view of controverting his doctrines, as of showing how unnecessary any discussion of them was on the present occasion; although as the right hon. gentleman had observed, it was by no means the province of Parliament to interfere with Ministers in respect to the making of treaties, or forming of alliances during the progress of the negociations for that purpose; yet he was not backward to declare, that a strict alliance with Holland was absolutely necessary, to secure to this country those advantages which she proposed to herself from her late exertions, and a continuance of them; and that all proper steps had hitherto been adopted, and would continue to be taken for that purpose, and he had no doubt a suitable determination would soon be made to a business which had been so fortunately begun.

On the subject of subsidiary treaties, the right hon. gentleman had laid down a doctrine which he apprehended when the transaction that gave rise to it should come before the House, would be found inadmissible. The right hon. gentleman had laid it down as a maxim, that no consideration could justify the employing foreign troops under a subsidiary treaty,

if he found any establishment inadequate to its object, he should, without regarding whether he had himself made the original arrangement, or had found it ready made to his hand by a preceding administration, take the earliest opportunity of increasing it to what appeared to him to be its proper standard; for, besides that circumstances might so far vary as to make a change in the establishment necessary, in which case there could be no room for blame of any sort, he should never, to avoid the apparent acknowledgment of an error, incur the guilt of continuing it, at the expense of the safety of the empire, after he had found it to be so. But whether the present establishment had been too small originally, or whether the change of circumstances had made it so, was not the question; but what was now actually necessary; for to that the establishment ought to be immediately increased, as no person could doubt the policy of keeping our possessions in such a state of security as should leave no reasonable room for anxiety on their account, should hostilities at any future period become unavoidable, that should oblige us to appropriate to the defence of our colonies that force which the immediate object of the war might demand. And although so fortunate a crisis as the present had put this country into a situation to look forward to the lasting enjoyment of the blessings of peace, it certainly was not, for that reason, less necessary to maintain a sufficient degree of force to repel such attacks, as might possibly be made in case of any future war. The late important crisis had led him to look more carefully and minutely into the state of our several establishments, than he had before had occasion or leisure to do; the consequence of which, was a firm persuasion, that under the present situation of the country, they were not adequate to their object.

except that by so doing we could afford to make a proportionable reduction of our own military establishment, or an increase in our naval force; but he wished the right hon. gentleman to consider, whether in case this country should be under the necessity of employing troops abroad, it would then, merely for that reason, become expedient to reduce our military establishments at home, in Ireland, or our distant possessions; or whether a smaller force would then be necessary, for internal defence, and for the protection of the revenue. Certainly this doctrine could not be supported: but was it not more politic, in a situation which threatened hostilities, to have recourse to a subsidy that should afford an immediate force of 12,000 men, at a less expense, with less delay, and almost on the spot, than to begin an actual levy at home, for an armament that might eventually be found unnecessary. He was also ready to declare, that the Treaty with the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, was originally made on the spur of the occasion, and merely with a view to the immediate expected necessity; but, since that present necessity had disappeared, it had been enlarged, and was now put on such a footing, that it would be found useful in almost any future emergency. In short, he was persuaded, that when the Treaty came to be discussed, it would appear, that it was, of all others, best calculated to render more effectual to this country the advantages she was to expect from the new situation of the Dutch republic, and from our consequent connexion with them.-With respect to the proposed increase of our establishment, for the defence of our distant possessions, the right hon. gentleman had suggested a 'ground of discussion, which he should be extremely unwilling to enter into; he should always be averse from the practice of considering how far measures proposed to be adopted, might have a tendency to justify or condemn such as had already been entered into, or forming a judgment of one administration from the conduct of another. Such a practice would set up a dangerous influence over ministers, and might be a temptation to them to persevere in errors of their own, lest they should appear to acknowledge them, and to abandon the most politic institutions of their predecessors, lest they should bear testimony to their wisdom. On such principles as those, he should never form his judgment, nor suffer himself to be influenced by such motives; for,

The Address was agreed to nem. con.

Copies of the Convention with Francethe Treaty with Hesse Cassel-and the Declarations with France.] Nov. 29. The following Papers were presented, by his Majesty's command, to both Houses:

CONVENTION between his Majesty and the Most Christian King, signed at Versailles, the 31st of August 1787.

Difficulties having arisen in the East Indies, relative to the meaning and extent of the 13th article of the Treaty of Peace, signed at Versailles, the 3d of September 1783; and his Most Christian Majesty, with a view to remove every cause of dispute between their respective subjects in that part of the world, having thought proper to make a particular convention, which may serve as an explanation of the 13th article above-mentioned in this view their said Majesties have named for their respective plenipotentiaries; to wit, on the part of his Britannic Majesty, William Eden, esq., Privy Counsellor in Great Britain and Ireland, Member of the British Parliament, and his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to his Most Christian Majesty; and on the part of his Most Christian Majesty, the sieur Armand Mark Count de Montmorin de St. Herem, Marshal of his Camps and Forces, Counsellor in all his Councils, Knight of his Orders, and of the Golden Fleece, Minister and Secretary of State, and, of his Commands and Finances, having the Department of Foreign Affairs; who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, haye agreed upon the following articles:

Art. I. His Britannic Majesty again engages, "to take such measures, as shall be in his power, for securing to the subjects of France, a safe, free, and independent trade, such as was carried on by the French East India Company," and as is explained in the following articles, "whether they exercise it individually, or as a company," as well in the nabobship of Arcot, and the countries of Madura and Tanjore, as in the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa, the Northern Circars, and, in general, in all the British possessions on the coasts of Orixa, Coromandel, and Malabar.

Art. 2. In order to preveut all abnses and disputes, relative to the importation of salt, it is agreed, that the French shall not import annually into Bengal, more than 200,000 maunds of salt. The said

salt shall be delivered at a place of deposit appointed for that purpose by the government of Bengal, and to officers of the said government, at the fixed price of 120 rupees for every 100 maunds.

Art. 3. There shall be delivered annually for the French commerce, upon the demand of the French agent in Bengal, 18,000 maunds of salt-petre, and 300 chests of opium, at the price established before the late war.

Art. 4. The six ancient factories, namely, Chandernagore, Cossimbuzar, Dacca, Jugdea, Balasore, and Patna, with the territories belonging to the said factories, shall be under the protection of the French flag, and subject to the French jurisdiction.

Art. 5. France shall also have possession of the ancient houses of Soopore, Keerpoy, Cannicole, Mohunpore, Serampore, and Chittagong, as well as the dependencies on Soopore; viz. Gautjurat, Allende, Chintzabad, Patorcha, Monepore, and Dolobody and shall further have the faculty of establishing new houses of commerce; but none of the said houses shall have any jurisdiction, or any exemption from the ordinary justice of the country exercised over British subjects,

Art. 6. His Britannic Majesty engages to take measures to secure to French subjects, without the limits of the ancient factories above mentioned, an exact and impartial administration of justice in all matters concerning their persons or properties, or the carrying on their trade in the same manner, and as effectually as to his own subjects.

Art. 7. All Europeans, as well as natives, against whom judicial proceedings shall be instituted, within the limits of the ancient factories above mentioned, for offences committed, or debts contracted, within the said limits, and who shall take refuge out of the same, shall be delivered up to the chiefs of the said factories, and all Europeans, or others whosoever, against whom judicial proceedings shall be instituted without the said limits and who shall take refuge within the same, shall be delivered up by the chiefs of the said factories, upon demand being made of them by the government of the country.

Art. 8. All the subjects of either nation respectively, who shall take refuge within the factories of the other, shall be delivered up on each side, upon demand, being made of them.

Art, 9. The factory of Yanam, with