his liberty, his laws, and his property, and who held in abhorrence acts the moft atrocious and fanguinary that ever difgraced the human race, boldly and unequivocally to come forward and avow his principles. Engaged, as we were, in a war with an enemy who reviled all focial and moral ties, who had declared eternal hoftility to every fixed fyftem of government, and whofe unprincipled and defperate efforts at univerfal dominion threatened the well being of every orderly ftate, and the very existence of civilized man, how can a peace, at fuch a time, be proposed confiftent with the welfare of this kingdom, and the protection of his Majefty's Allies? To make a feparate peace would be incompatible with the character of Englifhmen, who, true to their faith and their treaties, will not forfake thofe powers who are engaged in the cause of mankind, whofe territories in that cafe muft, ere long, become provinces to France, and fubjected to their unbounded ambition and cruelty, and in which cafe this country must be liable to the infults, oppreffion, and finally, perhaps, to the dominion of an implacable, inveterate, and, he would add, natural enemy, whofe government is founded on bloodshed and rapine. It was no common enemy we were to apprehend and guard ourselves againft in the French nation. Revenge, and not poffeffion, was the object of their efforts; to deftroy, not to enjoy, was their purfuit; nor would fuccefs alter their principles. The prefent war could not be viewed in the partial light of a conteft between England and France; nor could any interested motives in the profecution of it be poffibly afcribed to us; it was a war of almost all the powers of Europe against a set of vile ufurpers, who, to accomplish their projects, refpect neither man nor property, and are laying their own fertile and beautiful country in ruins; who have destroyed religion in the expulfion of their clergy; who have banished order by the abolition of diftinctions and neceffary gradations; who deem the fuccefs of the merchant, in the acquirement of property by his industry, an act of treafon; who bring to the guillotine all men of wealth; who oblige the tradefman and fhopkeeper to difpofe of their articles at prices arbitrarily fixed by their agents; and whofe mode of taxation is plunder and robbery. Such was the example which the common enemy of mankind difplayed at this moment, to an aftonished, affrighted world; but, to give a juft picture of all their iniquities, it would be neceffary for him, he faid, to enumerate the various circumstances which had occurred fince the commencement of the revolution in that country.

It had been expected, that the light of order would gradually break in on the ftormy clouds of the Revolution; but this hope was now vanifhed. The actors were changed, but the scenes continued the fame. The theories of Marat, from which France

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herself fhrunk with horror, when they were firft broached, were now realized and carried into practice. The execution of their fellow-citizens now conftituted the chief amufement of the people.

The views of the French rulers foon difclofed themselves after the memorable battle of Jemappe. They at once avowed their intention to erect a fovereign power on the ruins of civilized fociety. The nation, loved by fome, feared by many, and imitated by all, had funk fince that period into the loweft debafemant. If we had been cajoled by them in 1792, what would have been our fituation at the prefent moment, when Briffot and the rulers of that moment were no more? The French nation had fince that time declared their purpose of waging a war of extermination against this country. Their inclination in this inftance happily out bounded their power.

If a peace was defirable with fuch men, it had not yet been ftated how this peace was to be obtained. Were we to folicit their forgiveness? We should find in this cafe fomething to deter us in the example of the city of Lyons. The late fucceffes of the French were not to be regarded as an object of furprize, where the property, and the perfonal fervices of the fubject, were equally at the command of the ruling powers. It was not to be expected that the allies could in the firft inftance have refifted a movement of this extraordinary defeription. It fhould ferve only to put them on their guard, as there was unhappily no part of Europe fufficiently out of the reach of their fudden excurfions. It became Englifhmen particularly to confider, that, in the fafety of Europe, that of our inland was involved; and that, if the Netherlands fell a prey to the French, our caufe may be confidered as loft!

tion.

England, at the opening of the prefent war, was not fufficiently prepared, and for a very extraordinary reafon. All parties had agreed, that our peace establishment fhould be reduced to its loweft standard, on the ground that nothing was now to be feared from France, the ancient enemy of this country!-The relative fituation of both countries was within the last year compleatly changed. We were now in a state of vigour and active preparaFrance had been nearly driven within her proper boundaries. Her country was now the theatre of war, and the means intended for aggreffion fhe had been obliged to convert to the purpose of her own defence. In this refpect only were circumftances changed. Her difpofitions were ftill the fame; ruin and revenge were ftill her objects, and terror was ftill her means! Great Britain, always renowned for the brilliancy of her atchievements, and which, fince the commencement of the prefent war, have difplayed acts of bravery, courage, and generofity, that will ever live to their honour; fhall fhe bow to the favage barbarity of her foes, when the means of conqueft, and a glorious iflue to the war, preNo. 1. ****

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fents itself to her view? Convinced that fuch means were within our province, in concert with our allies, he fhould conclude with giving his hearty affent to the motion of thanks.

Mr. Sullivan faid, that he could not give a filent vote on this occafion. The motives for commencing the war, in his opinion, ftill continued in full force. If France had depended on her regular resources, the muft before this time have been fubdued. Their means were extraordinary and unnatural. It was like a convul five effort in the human frame, which, though powerful at the moment, tended in the end but to weaken and enervate.

Lord Wycombe commenced the oppofition to the Motion. He avowed that he was one of thofe who, laft Seffion, when the queftion of war was brought forward, were of opinion that it was a measure unneceflary and impolitic, convinced that the objects of it were attainable by negociation, and that good and falutary provifions might have been procured by us for the oppreffed, and protection for the innocent. He thought then, and ftill continued to think, that, by fo doing, we fhould have prevented, through our influence, the fate of the unfortunate Monarch and his Queen, which was now fo much the object of our condemnation and pity. Since that period, he had properly matured his ideas, and could find no one circumstance that had occurred to induce him to alter his opinion on the fubject; on the contrary, he thought every recent event had proved it to have been well founded; and the ill fuccefs which had attended our arms on the Continent, in feveral expeditions, afforded but a diftant profpect of our efforts being ultimately crowned with fuccefs; and the real objects of it were every day removed ftill farther from our attainment. Notwithftanding the interpretations of fuccefs given to our various concerns in the war, he fhould boldly fay, that, far from fubfcribing to this fond doctrine, he confidered the arms of Great Britain as having experienced defeats, and (through the imbecility of his Majefty's Minifters) misfortunes of the most difcouraging nature. When the idea was firft brought forward of a war with France, the general opinion was, that the British navy, without comparifon the greatest and most complete in the world, would ride victorious over the feas, and fhortly annihilate that of France, reduced in its ftrength by a diminution of its number, and the defection of its officers; in which, however, we are proved to have been mistaken; for, notwithstanding the fuperiority of its force, the feas remain unprotected, and our trade and commerce are daily fuffering by the captures made by the French, particularly on the Newfoundland coaft, and from the River St. Lawrence to the Gulph of Florida. Our first expedition against Martinique was conducted in such a manner, as he trufted would excite further enquiry and invefligation. Jamaica was left unprotected to meet its fate.

In

In the next place, the unprotected fituation of our trade and poffeffions along the whole coaft of North America, &c. required attention. When we confider the nature of our West India Trade, the produce of those islands coming home from them along the whole American coaft, what fhall we fay to the French having the uninterrupted and undisturbed command of that extenfive range? But for the infubordination of the French crews, Newfoundland, Halifax, and our other poffeffions in that part of the world, would moft probably have fallen a facrifice to the force which was fitted out against them. Of the Channel fleet, and its operations, his Lordship would forbear faying any thing at prefent, as his Lordship purposed making that a subject of diftinct enquiry hereafter. The expedition unfortunately undertaken against Dunkirk, he could affirm, was contrary to the opinion of the best informed men on the fubject; and the only fruit from it, was the ferving to weaken our allies, and expofe ourselves to difgrace. To the expedition against Toulon, fimilar reprehenfion would be found to attach, inafmuch as, after all our wafte of blood and treasure, it was found to be untenable. With respect to Dunkirk, indeed, particular blame was due, because undertaken without the adequate means of fuccefs; in particular, fuch gun-boats as were conftructed for that occafion, neither being ready in due time, nor capable of carrying guns of a calibre fit to cope with thofe of the enemy. Nieuport must have fallen into the hands of our enemies, but for the timely. affiftance afforded to it by the arrival of his Honourable Friend, General Grey.

Of the Weft India Expedition (under Sir Charles Grey and Sir John Jarvis) Lord Wycombe faid, that he should have entertained every hope from the abilities of the Commanders; but their force had been fo maimed and curtailed previous to their final departure, that he doubted if Minifters themfelves could entertain any very fanguine hope from their exertions.

The conduct of Minifters to Neutral Powers, would form, he trufted, also another object of ferious inveftigation. He alluded particularly to the order of Council, for intercepting American fhips laden with the produce of the French Colonies. The late fpeech of the Prefident fhewed, that the Americans were not difpofed to be trifled with; and, from his knowledge, he could aver, that there was no circumftance which the Americans would be inclined more strongly to refent, than fuch an attack on the freedom of their commerce.

His Lordship's remarks tended in general to prove, that the British arms had fuffered defeats; not from any declenfion of their bravery, but from a want of fyftem in those with whom the direction of the war refted; and made fome very judicious geographical obfervations on the feveral feats of war, exprefling his convicE 2 tion,

tion, that a profecution of hoftilities could tend to no other purpofe than that of weakening our ftrength and our refources, and of courfe rendering us more infecure from thofe evils which we depreciate in the French Government, which we are fo anxious to guard against. He concluded with moving an Amendment to the Motion, thanking his Majefty for the Communication he had been graciously pleafed to make to that Houfe, and earnestly recommending to him to adopt fuch Measures for bringing about a Peace, as to him might feem wife and fit.

Col. Tarleton, with much animation, condemned the war in its undertaking and conduct. If Addreffes, and the bufinefs of Parliament, were become a form, and loft the fpirit, what hindered that Proclamations were fubftituted in their ftead at once, and given the force of law? How could they justify themselves to their conftituents in raifing taxes for the purpofe of carrying on an ufelefs and ruinous war, and fupporting a fet of beggarly allies? Looking at the fituation of Europe, it must have been evident to all, that civil war was inevitable in France without the aid of external hoftility. It was by combination alone that the Jacobins became triumphant, and by the efforts of their external foes they were enabled to deprefs their internal enemies. On the other hand, we were in full poffeffion of trade and power, reaping all the benefit from their diftraction and diftrefs. What then could induce our mixing in the war? After all that had happened, it was the duty of that Houfe to express their fenfe of the manner in which the war had been conducted; and he conceived the mere detail and narrative of facts would be the fevereft cenfure that could be paft upon the authors of them. When the British Lion was once roufed, much was naturally to have been expected; but he would afk what, after an exertion of twelve months, what was done? Merely nothing! If, indeed, a proper force had been directed along the Seine, it might have reached Paris, and much benefit be derived from it, by affording the Royalifts an opportunity of displaying their true fenfe and wishes. By this measure, a fair inference might have been drawn fpeedily; either a fortunate iffue to the event, or elfe a demonftration of the utter impoffibility of conqueft. He conjured the Houfe to interfere, and not fuffer the Miniftry, by the purfuit of temporizing measures, to suffer our trade to be interrupted, and our arms difgraced. He reminded them of the various difafters that have befallen us; the expedition under Gen. Grey, crippled; Toulon evacuated; our General there a prifoner; and our Commiffioner, a Member of that House (Sir Gilbert Elliot) unable to communicate either confidence to our allies, or comfort to his country. He meant not, he faid, to dwell on the long catalogue of minifterial errors in the conduct of the campaign; they were too notorious to need repetition: Com

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