moved, "that an humble addrefs be pre fented to his Majefty, praying that his Majefty would be graciously pleafed to acknowledge the Republic of France, and thereby lay the foundation for a speedy reconciliation, and a lafting peace.

Lord Darnley oppofed this motion as being extremely dangerous in its ten dency at the prefent moment; and diffented altogether from the fentiments of the Noble Lord who made the motion upon this fubject.

Lord Warwick paid Lord Stanhope many handfome compliments for private virtues which he knew him to poffefs, but differed from him effentially in political fentiments, and particularly on this occafion. He allowed him purity of intentions; he disclaimed all infinuations to the contrary; but he must confess his motion was, in his opinion, highly improper under the circumftances of the prefent war.

The motion was then put, and negitived.

28. Lord Stanhope moved, that the House be fummoned for Friday, in order to take into confideration the proceedings and sentence of the Court of Jufticiary in Scotland, in the cafe of Mr Muir; which was agreed to.

29. Lord Grenville delivered a mef fage from his Majefty refpecting the Foreign troops landed at Cowes. His Lordfhip ftated the neceffity of landing them on account of their ill health from being fo long on-board. This being read from the woolfack, the Noble Lord moved, "that the thanks of the House be return ed to his Majefty for his moft gracious meffage."

Lord Lauderdale wished to know the fpecific number of men.

Lord Grenville faid, he knew no more than what the meffage contained.

The motion was then carried.

31. Lord Stanhope, after making feveral obfervations on the manner in which the trial of Mr Muir had been conducted in the Court of Jufticiary in Scotland, moved, that an humble Addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, moft humbly to befeech him that he would be gracioufly pleafed to fufpend the execution of Mr Muir's fentence, till their Lordfhips had time to enquire into the grounds of his conviction." His Lordship faid, if fuccefsful in this motion, he would follow it up with a fimilar one in behalf of Mr Palmer, William Skirving, and Maurice Margarot.

The motion was opposed by the Earl

of Mansfield, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Thurlow, the Duke of Norfolk &c. and, on the queftion being called for, the Houfe divided, Non-contents 49. Contents 1.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-Jan. zi.

His Majefty's fpeech having been read by the fpeaker, Lord Clifden rose to move an address of thanks, in which he used nearly the fame arguments as were used by the Earl of Stair. Sir Peter Burrell féconded it.

Lord Wycombe faid, that, independent of the principles on which hoftilities commenced, the manner in which they had been carried on was open to much animadverfion. We ought either not to have gone to war at all, or conducted it with a vigour and capacity fuited to the means put in our power. Oor revenues were exhaufted, and the navy, our natural ftrength, neglected-to furnish subsidies to the Continental States with which we were connected. The expedition againft Martinico, projected on the breaking out of the war, was fhamefully inefficient for the purpofe intended. The whole coaft of Âmerica, from Savannah to the gulph of St Lawrence, was without any protection whatever; and the flender force of the French in that part of the world might have obtained an eafy poffeffion of our most valuable territories; nay, even Halifax itself might have fallen into their hands. Our channel fleet, inftead of having performed any effectual fervice against the enemy, was lying fil in port, when our Weft India fleet was at fea, expofed to the attack of the whole Breft fquadron. The attack upon Dunkirk was planned without judgement, and conducted without skill: fuppofing the acquifition to be permanent, it could be attended with no poffible utility; and the expeditions under the conduct of Sir Charles Grey and Sir John Jervis had been crippled, from their have ing left half their artillery at Nieuport. And laftly, let the behaviour of ministers with refpect to neutral powers be contrafted with the magnanimous deportment of the preficent of the United States of America, whom they had likewife irritated by their improper measures. Under fach circumftances would it not be more becoming to be fparing of abufe to those whom we could not conquer by arms? That revolution in opinion among the people of France which had been much lamented, would be rather ftrengthened than checked by the continuance of hoftilities; and our decurity would be

beft

best promoted and the humanity incident to our character leat outraged, by an immediate effort to effectuate a pacification. Colonel Tarleton took the fame grounds.

Sir William Milner remarked, that there seemed to be an inconfifiency in the views of the allied courts and his Majefty's minifters the former deliring to reftore an arbitrary government to France, and the latter avowing that their fole defign was the reftoration of the limited uonarchy. He conceived it might be proper to intimate to the courts of Auftria and Pruffia, that we would only cooperate with them in effectuating the latter purpose.

Mr Courtenay compared the attempt of the Allies to oblige the French to ac cept of a monarchy by force, to the Irifh mode of celebrating a wedding, by ra vishing a woman and then marrying her afterwards.

Lord Mornington reprefented to the Houfe the various events that had taken place in France, fince the opening of the campaign, and of the various means which the Convention employed to raise funds for the purposes of carrying on the war, deluding the people of France, and rendering them deteftable in the eyes of Europe.

"

Mr Sheridan faid, there was no man who felt a more ferious deteftation of the conduct of the governing people in France than he did; and he was forry to fee, that in one of the worst and most exceptionable parts of their conduct, Great Britain had condefcended to imitate them. He would venture to affert, that we had carried our fyftem of fraternization full as far as the French had done in any one inftance, without the fame excufes in our favour. Our treatment of Genoa was in every refpect as violent and unauthorised as that of the French upon any occafion. The laft fpeaker he faid, had flated to theHoule, that the Jacobins charged the Girondifts with being authors of the war; that the Girondifts retorted the charge upon the Jacobins; that the mountain accufed the valley, and that the valley re-echoed back the charge upon the mountain. What does all this prove? It proves that all parties in France think the war an improper meafure, and wish to fhift refponfibility off themfelves. But the Houfe were not fo immediately called upon to decide whether the French or we were the firft aggreffors in the war; there were two other very material points for them to difcufs, namely, what was

the probable end of the war, and in what manner it had been carried on? With refpect to the first of these points, he would wish to afk gentlemen what would be the probable end of the war? Were we to carry it on till we had cftablished a government in France with whom it would exactly fuit us to treat? There the profpect before us was most miferable indeed, becaufe we were engaged in a war, the object of which was to exterminate a nation infinitely fuperior to our felves. As to the fuccefs of the war, the French appeared to him to be in a fitua tion infinitely preferable to what they were at the commencement of the war with us. They had fhewn that men, fighting in the caufe of Liberty, were infpired with a degree of enthusiastic ardour, which the firft troops in the world, headed by the ableft generals, were unable to withstand.

Mr Wyndham ably fupported the original motion.

Mr Dundas contended that our trade was protected in every quarter of the globe--that no lefs than 80 fhips of the line, and 100 frigates were added to our navy fince the commencement of the war

and that our exertions had exceeded any that had ever before been made in this country? He alfo ably defended the conduct of Lord Hood.

Mr Fox faid, that the queftion before the Houle had been treated in a very complicated way, He would endeavour to imprefs the country and that House with what he conceived to be the true ftate of the queftion. It was a vowed, that while the prefent Jacobin power exifted in France, no peace could be concluded, no peace could be entered into with that country. Invective had been used by fome, and art by others, but the true grounds of the war had been concealed. Did we not treat, notwithstanding, with Dumourier? did we not treat with M. Chauvelin? did we not treat with the fame Jacobin club that had been branded with fo much deteftation and abhorrence in this country? but what was to be inferred from this way, that we were to have no peace. A fyftem had been purfued in order to fquander the public money, and at the fame time to deceive the people. It was faid, that we abhor the Jacobin fyftem; but we do not fay that a peace cannot be obtained.— Will it be faid, that till the Jacobin club is deftroyed, no peace can be made? If the prefent war went not only to the deftruction of the glory, but the very

exiftencé

exiftence of the British nation, this was a Bellum internecinum. Now, there were two queftions with refpect to a peace: the firft was, whether a peace with fuch a government was defirable; and the fecond, whether, if we failed in the endea vour to obtain peace, the mischief would be greater than if we had not made the attempt? It might be faid, that the whole defpotilm of France had been fubverted, and that anarchy had been fubftituted in its place.It was for this reafon that we had fitted out armies and fleets. We faw Poland, at the very moment fhe was coming to improvement, feized upon by the fangs of two Princes, difmembered, and obliged to fing Te Deum for the favours the had received at their hands. In one inftance, we risked the very existence of our ftate; and in another we expreffed our forrow in a well-turned sentence, Mr Fox concluded with moving an amendment to the following purport"That the Houfe would addrefs his Ma jey to take the first opportunity of of fering terms of peace; and that no refpect fhould be had, in forming the preliminaries, to the form and nature of the government of France."

Mr Pitt reminded the Houfe, that after repeated difcuffions, it had been the decided opinion of parliament, and that of the country at large, the principles upon which the war was undertaken were defenfive; and that at all events it was profecuted on grounds not only amounting to juftification, but neceffity; for if the points at iffue previous to the declaration of war, had not been incontrovertibly fettled, and even if the enemy had not actually declared war against us, we mufl have declared against them; and even in that cafe, whatever form it might affume, it was defenfive in fubftance. The objects of the war had undergone fuch repeated difcuffions, that it was matter of curious fpeculation how gentlemen contrived to forget them. They had been repeatedly demanded; and as repeatedly he had anfwered, that they were thole precife objects which might form the ground-works of a substantial peace, as circumftances varied with the fapfe of time or the fluctuations of eyent, but of which it was impoffible to give a precife definition. He would fay, that it was, ift, The restoration of peace with fuch fecurity as would put us on the fame footing as before the war. 2dly, A reasonable indemnity; and the firft and greateft ftep to that fecurity he conceived to be a total change of that fyftem

which had given rife to thofe encroachTM ments and aggreffions that had occafion❤ ed the war.

Mr Pitt allowed, that the mere deteftation of character, if it did not bear on our own fafety, was no juft caufe for practical hoftility; but if the deteftation of character is coupled with circumftances of danger, every circumftance of fact and perfon unite to eftablish a fyftem of accumulated horrors to France, and baleful effects every where-a fyftem increaf ing to the greatest magnitude of mifchief, and by that increase promoting additional means of extention, and accelerating its progrefs; and if the will denoted to extend, increases in the proportions of the power, he put it to the House, even to the enemies of the war, to confider whether any thing but crufhing it could procure fafety?

At five o'clock in the morning the queftion was called for, when there were for Mr Fox's amendment, 59, against it, 277, majority 218.

22. Mr Serjeant Adair and Mr Fullerton were fworn in.

A writ was ordered to be iffued for a new member for New Windsor, in the room of Mr Powney, deceased.

The ftanding orders, relative to the ad, miffion of ftrangers, were voted.

Lord Cliefden reported the Address; which was read the firft and fecond time; and, on the queftion for its paffing being put,

Mr Fox inquired, if it was the intention of gentlemen oppofite to him to fubmit the treaties, lately entered into with Ruffia and Sardinia, to the particular confideration of the Houfe; which, he faid, he thought their importance requir ed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that they were not intended for particu lar difcuffion, but, as all measures of the kind, were regularly confidered in the Committee of Supply.

The report of the Addrefs was then agreed to.

23. A new writ was moved for Seaford, in the room of Mr Sargent ; and another for Wycombe, in the room of Sir J. Jervis.

Mr Long moved, that no private petition be received after the 27th of Febru ary. Ordered.

The Speaker, attended by the Members who were prefent, went up to St James's with the Addrefs to the King.

27. Mr Dundas prefented a meffage from his Majefty, acquainting the Houfe,

that

that he had ordered the landing of the Heffians at the Isle of Wight and Portfmouth, on account of ficknefs; and an addrefs of thanks was ordered to the King for the communication.

28. Mr Sheridan moved, that accounts fhould be laid before the House of the amount of the falary or half-pay, or penfion in lieu of half-pay, given to Sir Gilbert Elliot, J. Erfkine, and others, commiffioners of Toulon; and accounts of the amount of the expence of the embaffy of Lord Malmesbury to the Court of Berlin; of the Hon. Mr Elliot, Charge de Affaires to the fame Court; and of the miffion of the Earl of Yarmouth to the King of Pruffia; alfo, of the amount paid to counsel, viz. to John Anftruther, Efq. by the Board of Controul for India affairs; and alfo, for an account of the expenditure and application of 11,000l. and 5,000l. granted by an act of laft feffion to be expended by the Board of Controul in the fervice of the Eaft-India Company; which were granted without oppofition.

As the Speaker put the various quef tions, a conversation took place on fome direct and fome incidental points. As to the office and emoluments of a counsel to the Board of Controul,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, no fuch office had ever exifted. Mr Anftruther, indeed, had been confulted by that Board on various legal points that had arisen, but had no appointment what ever from it.

Mr Anftruther declared, that, if there was any fuch falary or appointment, it was perfectly unknown to him, and it muft be fome other gentleman of the fame name who was in poffeffion of them, for, he declared, he was not.

The Earl of Yarmouth faid, he was much obliged to the Hon. Gentleman for bringing forward the motion refpecting him, as it enabled him to contradict fome grofs mifreprefentations that had gone abroad. He had neither received equipage, falary, nor any kind of perquifite. All he had charged on Government was a few hundred pounds, to indemnify himself for the expence of the journeys he took in following the King of Pruffia; and all of which fell within the extraordinaries of a Minister Plenipotentiary.

Mr Burke admitted it was the duty of the Houfe to watch the public purfe with an anxious eye; but thought fome evidence of guilt fhould even precede fufpicion, which was evidently not the cafe

in the inftance of Lord Yarmouth and Mr Anftruther; and that the best way of preferving the effect of public inquiry was, not to exert it on flight or ill-founded occafions.

29. A new writ was ordered for Steyning, in the room of Mr Curtis, who has accepted the Eaft Hundred.

In a Committee of Supply, Mr Hobart in the chair, Lori Arden moved, that 85,000 feamen, including 12,115 marines, be granted to his Majefty for the fervice of the year 1794.

Mr Fox faid, he did not mean to oppofe the motion, but to take the opportunity to make a few observations on a circumftance which nearly concerned the commerce of the kingdom What he alluded to was, our trade had suffered confiderably in feveral quarters for wane of adequate convoys. The Baltic fleet had, on account of its convoy not waiting for the fleet, loft 16 or 17 fail, which were captured and carried into Norway. The Quebec fleet had alfo fuffered from circumftances nearly fimilar, part of it being bound to Spain and Portugal, as well as to Great Britain; a number of fhips of the former defcription were taken, as its convoy was obliged to feparate from the fleet on account of a strong gale of wind. The Weft-India fleet was under the neceffity of waiting near three months in port for a convoy; a circumftance which obviously muft have diftreffed that trade. That he had to add, with concern, to these difaftrous events, a victualling fleet, which, on its return from Ireland, was captured by the French, and which was now within their ports: that, confidering these circumftances, he was furprized gentlemen could fay fo confidently that this fervice was never better performed: and he could not for his part but mark the conduct of Minifters with his firongeft disapprobation, that, at a time when we have all the powers of Europe for our allies, and the French is the only power at present to contend with, we fhould lofe more fhipping, and be less enabled to protect them, than when all the powers of Europe were in combination against us. Surely it muft argue the want of exertion in Ministers; and he hoped the Houfe would take up the fubject, and make it a matter of diftinct difcuffion,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer in reply obferved, that what the Right Hon. Gentleman mentioned merited the moft ferious confideration. As to the particular facts alledged, he was not fo

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