Star. — London, England, 1802-05-15 00:00:00

once propofed to her to evacuate this putteMon. The Americans were injured. How could we be blamed for this ? We had not found fault with the fame arrangements when America was our own. Although the treaty of Utrecht had been renewed, it would not have touched this cafe, ei. they in its letter or its fpirit. After a few more ob. fervations upon this point,he proceeded topoint out the effeft of the non-renewal of treaties. Upon this point, laid he, I have heard pofitions laid down which fill me with aftonifhment. Thofe Right lion. Gentlemen who profefs to with for an ami cable arrangement, feem labouring to prevent it. Before they have any experience of the difpofitions of France, they come forward and Rate claims the is likely to advance, which they themfelves i onotioce deftitute of all foundation. They call ior p rovifions, which by the fame arguments might Le p; (iced completely nugatory. If the French :.re fo ambitious, and to unprincipled as to difturb our eftablifhed rights, in violation of all reafon, common fenfe, :old good faith, would not the Treaty, about which they clamour, be a piece of waße paper? If more particular Ripulations were immediately neeelfary, no Treaty ought ever to have been concluded. We fhould either have re mained at war, or we fhnuld now thew the con fidence becoming a Rate of peace. Confidence begets confidence, and the fufpicion of bad in. tentions often creates them. If we really do harbour flifpicions, it is mach better to conceal them. We juftly reproached the Diretors with always alking us for our terms, and Rill accufing us of intincerity. Surely this harfh irritating lan guagz would not tend to render as more fincere. —I am not at all Pure of the ground on which the praaire reps of the renewal of ancient treaties. I would not treat lightly an ufage which has pre. trailed long among great and enlightened nations. I am willing to fuppufe that there is Come reafon fir it, which I have not penetration to difcover. But I confefs myfelf much at a lofs, as in former times, even dick treaties contained contradictory (limitations, and often had no objet on which they could operate. lam not aftonithed that what is commonly known by the Treaty of Wefiphalia is alo'ays willingly renewed by France. This is no thing more than brufhingoffthe dull from a monu ment to her glory. She then (truck a medal reprefent. ing the Grand Monarque with a pair of fcales in his hind, and the Imperial Crown in one fcale, and the Crowns of the Princes of Germany in the other.— She has atiumed ever fince the right of trimming tom, and certainly is furnilhed with a pretext for aairg as arbiter of Germany. From the language of thefe Honourable Gentlemen one would have lippefed,thatin no inflance ancientitreaties had not been i enewed, and that the inevitable confequence of the omiflion mull be throwing the whole world in to confufion. The praiftice, however, hasbeenby no means fo uniform. At Breda, I believe, there was no renewal of former treaties ; at Ryfwick I be. lieve there was no renewal of former treaties; at Utrecht I believe there was no renewal of former treaties. Yet, Sir, Europe fubllfted, the law of nations kept its ground, and plaice did not for ever take leave el the earth. The triple alliance of 1717, and the quadruple alliance of 1718, were two of the treaties generally renewed. Up on what fuhjeas can they now take effea ? In feveral we have guaranteed the Crown of France to the I lonfe of Bourbon: With what grace would we propofe the renewal of thefe to the Republic one and bolivifible ? You mutt at leatt have the mortification to confirm to France, direaly and esprefsly, St. Domingo, Louifiana, and all her numberlefs acquifitions in Europe. This Cutely is not a thing you would go out of your way to do. You would renew treaties merely for the purpore of functioning the breach of them! This is furely not the belt way to obtain an obfervance of folcmn Ripulations for the future. It may be laid, that fume particular articles fliould have been extra red from the old treaties, and inferted in the treaty of Amien , . This may be very true, and the peace of Europe might thus have been better provided for; but this is quite a different accufation, and when it is brought forward diftinaly, we than be ready to meet it. Sir, it is not tine that every treaty, which k not renewed at the end of a war, falls completely to the ground. Many treaties, when once exctuted, are funai old°, and it is no longer ofeonfequence what becomes of them. When a ceffion is (nice made tome, it becomes part of my dominion, and is exatflly the fame as if it had be longed to me from time immemorial. There is not the fmallett difference between that and my other territories. If the State to whom it belonged goes to war with me, it may be attacked and re-conquered, but it does not revert back to that State upon the conchifion of Peace. A King cannot fay—" I give • ar territory to-day, and to-morrow go to war and hiy it is mine again." To apply this to the point on which fo much has been laid, viz.—our right to cut logwood in the Bay of Honduras—We did not teen d rive that right from Treaty: we had Come -low cr other been long in poffeffion of it. The words ufed are, that " Spain (hall offer us no mo leftation," not that fhe grants or blows. We oc cupied this ditiria before the war—we occupy it Rill, and we have as good a right to it as to any part of the ifland of Jamaica. The language of the Right Hon. Gentleman and his friends, with re gard to the Eat} Indies, amaze moll of all. They profefs not to have the fmalleft fhadow of a doubt cwicerningour rights,and being agreed among our- Pees, we are debating whether we may not have a fibjea of debate ? They allow that France mull make application to us, yet they fay no, go you to Vrance, and R a te th a t there are certain abfurd ci link oliich they, aaiog againft all reafonandgood faith, might fet up, and humbly implore that they would he gracioufly pleafcd to relinquifh them. This i; the molt complete inverfion of the natural mod.: of proceeding. Would they believe their dem , to be fo groundlefs when you (hewed fuch Riivety to get rid of them ? Would they not de ll's:al time important facrifice as the price of their IIa:-;aiefeerce ? But the Definitive Treaty amply 11 rit' , ::: , f.r the rellitution of the faaories. If I c r.ia.a. were difpoled to ftretch the article as far as , • - • ........ ,pot Ie! kv)rld pollibly go, the utmoft (he could demand, w' ..23 be the advantages the enjoyed under II • .: c,ttv eat i on o f 17 3 7 . Th e molt liberal mean idg or fa.VsrLv mutt be as they were before breaking ont of the war. I have heard of many difputes whether reftitutions were made in the fame Rate as the places were in before the war? But in my reading I have never met with a queffion like this : whether France might not be allowed to mount up through the whole procefs of ages to fee whether, at tome infinitely remote period, thefe faCtories did not enjoy greater privileges? At this rate they are in a better fituation than if they had never been conquered. Our fuccefs in taking them was to be deplored, and our poffellions in India would have been more fecure had they never come into our !lanais. But I fuppofe, Sir, thefe Gentle men only with to throw diferedit upon the pre tenfions which, without any reafon, they flip pore France may let up. According to this fyf tem of diplomacy, Sir, every Treaty mutt be a violence. Nothing mutt be omitted which the molt lively and the molt abfurd imagination can con ceive to come into difpute between the two nations. A negociator mull carry along with him as one of his fuite a perfon with a difturbed mind, whofe duty it will be to confider what claims the oppofite party may poffibly let up, however contrary to the letter and fpirit of the Treaty, and whole ravings mull afterwards be reduced into a diplomatic form. Sir, the Addrefs moved by the Noble Lord, has my molt cordial concurrence: it Teems to me to Rate the feelings and fentiments with which we ought to be animated. I mull that the principles on which we have aned on this memorable OCCA lion will juflify us to ourfelves and to pofterity. Let us purfite them ; and while we exprefs our loyalty at the return of peace, alfure his Majelty that we will rapport him in his efforts to reprefs all encroachments on our rights commercial, ma ritime, and colonial. We (hall thus preferve the bleffings of tranquillity, or if we should be forced once more to draw the fword in defence of our in dependence and our honour, we (hall (hew the fame fpirit and magnanimity which has carried us through this long and awful (lruggle. Dr. LAWRENCE entered at much length into the merits of the Definitive Treaty. In anfwer to an obfervation from the Mailer of the Rolls, lie faid, that the Addrefs moved by his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Windham), went by no means to cenfure the Minifters who had concluded the Treaty, but to implore his Majelly to take the neceffary ftcps to guard againft the evil confequences likely to refult from that meafrire. He inlifted that the Defini tive Treaty was not ftriCily founded on the bails of the Preliminaries, and feverely condemned molt of the articles, particularly thofe which relate to Portugal, Malta, and the Prince of Orange. He went over the fame ground nearly with Mr. T. Grenville, and infilled, that, by neglating to have former treaties renewed, his Majefty's Minifters had negleCted, in a great degree, the interefts not only of Europe in general, but of England in par ticular. By making fuch extenfive conceffions to France; we had refigned many of the fources of our own greatnefs ; and it was admitted, that the Peace, which had been procured at to high a price, could by no means be confidered as fecure. While we were thus trying the experiment of peace, we mutt, of natural confequence, experience all the in conveniencies of war. The French, in the mean time, would do every thing in their power to dif trefs and ruin our commerce, and the more effec. tually to enable them to do this, they were about to eftablifh a Navigation Aa of their own. This idea of the enemy might be ridiculed ; but it (hoold be recolleeted, that when the Englifh Navigation AR took place, it was in like manner laughed at both by France and Holland, though it lhortly proved of the higlieft detriment to the latter. He condemned the conduit which had been adopted refpeaing the colonies to he ceded to France, the Englifh Settlers in which would be materially in jured, if not effectually ruined. The Learned Doc tor entered into a long ftring of arguments in re ply to the different parts of the fpeech of the Mat ter of the Rolls, and concluded by giving his hearty affent to the original Addrefs, as moved by Mr. Windham. Mr. BOND laid, that it was neceffary to draw alide the veil which teemed to hang over this quef tion, and to let it be fairly underftood, that thofe who railed at the peace meant, in fact, a vote of cenfitre on the Minifters by whom it had bees con cluded. It was necefr.ul for thefe perfons, how ever, to thew by what art, or what addrefs, better terms could have been obtained. It was eafy for men in their clofets to fuggeft difficulties ; but they should make allowances tor the embarraffed &tui tion of negociators, and for the relative pofition of the country. It was dangerous, in his opinion, to provoke an hoftilc fpirit in the nation, when it was certainly undcrftood that the power of Great Bri tain was not of ittslf fufficient to maintain the ba lance of Europe. Colonel FLJt.LARTON (poke in favour of the Ad drefs. Mr. WM. WYNNK (aid he felt the importance of the facrifices the country had been obliged to 1 , make in order to obtain peace, but Rill more fo, the obfervance of its national faith. He trufted it would be ftrialy adhered to. The CHANCELLOR of the Excl.;aura (aid, that at that late hour of the night he fhould dwell on the points on which he had to (peak as little as poffible. If any thing could diminifh the regret he felt, it was the confiderations urged by his Learned Friend, that after a war attended with Co much concern to this country, we were now de bating whether we fhould conclude a Definitive Treaty or not? The tendency of all the arguments urged on the other fide of the Houfe, he conten ded were evidently to cenfure thole who had ad vifed his Majefty to make peace. In the language of the Mover of the motion, he Paid, he traced the genuine principles which had actuated the Hon. Gentleman during the war, who had wifbed it to be carried on againft the morals and man ners of France ; and who condemned the Peace, before he !mew the terms on which it was concluded, as the death-blow to the profprrity of the Country. Others there were who con ceived that this Peace was not fuch as the coun try had a right to expe.d, but who did not in their arguments go to the full extent of the fubjea.— ,—No man could entertain a greater rafpea than he did for the Honourable Gentlemen on the other fide of the Houle, hut he conceived that on their avowed principles, it would have been al together impoffible to make a Peace; and that their oppofition to the one concluded, was cal culated to lead to a renewal of the ware 'He Mould not then enter into the queflion, whether the Definitive Treaty was or was not entitled to the approbation of the Houle' He argued that the whole objeds aionld be takes together ; but that the oppofers of the Peace had made their attack 'piece-meal and in detail. Still, he faid, Minifters made their defence, and he would on ly ark, taking the whole queftion collettivOy, whether it was not right to advife his fvfajefty to make Peace ? He admitted the defects and omif fions complained of in the Definitive Treaty, as well as the difference between that and the Preli minary Articles. With refped to Louifiana being dangerous to Canada, he recolleded both in pot feffion of France in 176 z, at which time Great Britain had large poffeffions in that quarter, and was more than a match for France. The ceffion of Louifiana had been reprefented as a dangerous compromife of our commercial interefls. He ap prehended the Hon. Gentleman did not know, that in Lonifiana not a fhip of the line could an chor without taking her guns out ; and with re fpe. to danger, for many years fince the time that (hips have been coppered, they were accuf tomed to go through the windward paffage.— The danger, if any, was from Trinidad, and there we had not met with any annoyance. He allowed that the Definitive Treaty differed in five points from the Preliminary Articles, viz. New foundland, the Prifoners, Portugal, Malta, and the Cape, but from the two latter alone, all the danger, if any, could arrive. The Hon. Gentle. man, after explaining the circuttillances of the Treaty of Badajos, laid he was fatisfied that the meafures adopted with refped to the peace were on the whole advifable, and that he had never be flowed on it falfe colours, as he had always been of opinion there was no fafety or firength for a Minifter without hononr. He could only fay, that had the negotiation failed, it was his fin with to lay before the Houle every circumstance conned ed with it ; and he mull have unworthy views, if he, or any of his Majefty's Minillers, had in the courfe of their proceedings done any thing to tarnilh the honour of the country. He maintained that they had at all times fupported a tone of firm. nefs towards France, and when the time fhould ar• rive that there papers thonld be produced, they would prove his affertion. He could not help ex preffing his altonilhment that the arguments which had been urged, have not operated on the mind of the Hon. Gentleman. He took a profpedive view of the fituation of the Continent of Europe, and the refources of this country ; and raid that he prayed heartily for the continuance of the Peace; that France might aid with wifdom and moderation to wards us ; and that by ceconomizing our refources, we would ever be ready to defend our rights and privileges, if the incroaching power of France ihould be made manifeff towards us. He next adverted to the turn the Debates had' taken, and concluded by obferving, that fuch was the Rate of this Country as to its refources, that while it was true to itfelf it had nothing to fear. The amendment, as moved by Lord Hawkef bury, was then read from the chair. It was ver bally as follows : "That an humble addicts be prefented to his Nfajeity to re turn to his Majefty. the Thanks of the Houle for having been gracioully pleated to communicate to them the Definitive Trea ty of Peace, to reprefent to his Majefty, that we have already declared our full approbation of the Preliminary Articles of Peace, which, by his Majefty's command, were laid before this lloufe, and we are fatisfied that his Majefty has, on the whole, wifely confulted the interefts of his people is having concluded a Definitive Treaty, founded on the bads of thefe Preliminaries. That although we deeply lament the calamitous events which have taken place on the Continent of Europe in the comic of the war, we cannot but retied with the utmoft fatisfadion, that the wild and deftrudive defigns with which ' this country was threatened at its commencement, have been effectually fruftrated. That his Majefty's Dominions have not only been preferved entire, but valuable and important ac quifitlons have been annexed to them ; that our commercial and maritime fuperiority have been maintained and Ma) proved, and that we continue in the confirmed polls!". flints of thefe means of exertion which the experience of the late conteft has proved more than ever to be equal, even anddft the new and unexampled difficulties of other nations of Europe, to maintain the independence and af fect the honour of this country; that Imprelfed with thefe fentiments, we are on our parts earncftly folicitous to cultivate and improve the bleffings of peace, and to concur in fuels mea fures as his Majefty in his wifdom (hall judge to be belt calcu lated to prevent ow. fions of mifunderftanding with foreign Powers ; that we rely on his Majefty's known difpofition to adhere with the molt fcrupulous fidelity to his engagements ; bat that we entertain at the fame time a perfect confidence that his Majefty will not fail to employ that vigilance and attention which the prefent Grunion of Europe demands ; and above all, that his Majefty will be uniformly determined and prepared to defend againft every encroachment, the great fourees of the wealth, commerce, and naval power of the Empire. That we are fully perfuaded his Majefty's faithful fubjeds will at all dines be ready to fupport the honour of his Majefty's Crown, and the rights, laws, and liberties of th..tir Country, with the fame zeal, energy, and fortitude which they have invariably ma nifefted during the war, now happily brought to a conclufion." Mr. SHERIDAN rofe, he faid, in confequence of having given notice of his intention of moving an additional amendment to the addrefs propofed. He thould not go at length into the variety of arguments which had been offered in the courfe of the debate, nor would he detain the Houfe for any length of time. There should be this fingu larity in his profeffions, that he would keep his word, and not as molt of the other Gentlemen had done, in the courfe of the evening, make a long fpecch, after having promifed a (port one. The ground he (hould take would be one which lie feared would be popular only with refped to a very (mall part of the Houfe, for in the prefent ftrange (late of things, nothing was more Orange than the (late of parties— He then proceeded to comment on the flrange (late of parties in the Houfe, he believed there were eleven or thirteen different parties, nay it was very likely that there we: a more.—What he had to offer would have the thisfortune to which he was fo much accuftonted, hut which lie could not, on that account, ceafe to lament, that it would be in unifon'vrith the fentiments but of a very (snail party in the Houfe, but whofe predictions it now appeared were fully verified, whore views were fully juftified, and the neglect of whole counlels att4 warnings had at left led to a Rate of thins, and totheemichtfiondapeaetwhichthnftgiVepalS to every Eng}Amen who felt fur the honour and the interelts of the country. He Paid he could by no means concur In any vote of cenfure, direet or im plied, on the peace, for he firmly believed that in the circumftances of the country, no better peace VMS to be expo led. He fupported the peace, not becaufe be confidered it as honourable or fare, but becaufe the nation had been left in fuch a Date by the late Minifters as made it impolfible for the pre fent Minifters to condua the negotiation to any happier conclufion. Approving the peace on there grounds, he thanked Mr. Windham and his friends for expofing its terms as they had done.— It was fit that the country thould know its real danger, becaufe then it would be led to adopt or approve the precautions neceffary to fafety.— Eion. Gentleman, Mr. Dundas, had yeller day fpoken freely againft the Peace, though to day he had thought proper to fay nothing, and even his proxies had likcwife been more con ciliatory. That Right Honourable Gentleman had imputed to Mr. Vsrincilsam and his Friends, that, like thofe who cenfured the American peace. their only objea was to get into the places of thole they oppored ; but he could not believe that they entertained loch motives. It was cu. rious, however, that truth came nut at Taft :—the Chancellor of the Exchequer had avowed his be lief that thole Members of the Cabinet who during the war had had fo leading an influence, had all along entertained futh principles as made it impot: fible that they thould ever concur in any peace whatever with the French Republic. But was not this, (raid Mr. S) what we have laid at every period of the conteft and on every attempt to negotiate ? The Chancellor of the Exchequer laid too, that we ought to flop and . hufband our refources. Nothing could be more jufi, but were there not periods when this argument would have been fully as good ? If it was wife to fave our refonrces now, would it not have been wile to have refereed them when they were hill more entire ? Thole who thought fo could not approve the rejetion of Bo naparte's overtures in itioo, and he wiffied to know whether the Right Honourable Gentleman who generally defended all the meafures of his pre• deceffors adually did approve that rejedion ? Thofe who now argued for referving our means would find it no eafy thing on that ground to avoid the conclution —that every drop of blood fpilt and every Milling fpent, fince that period, were wantonly wafted. We wanted repore, it was faid ; we had accumulated debt; but why was our repofe fo long delayed ? Why was our debt fo unnece farily accumulated ? the fituation of things amidft fo much power as France has acquired, Inch ambition as the has 'hewn, he agreed that a flout and vigorous ellablifhment thould be kept Split into parties we are indeed; but who doubts that every party will, heart and hand, unite to defend and preferve out effiential interefts. It was a pity, indeed, that in a crifis like this, there was not a snore impofing and deeifive union—a union above all petty difputes. There ought to be Inch a unanimity difplayed as would thew the French that however their encroachments might foratime be endured, yet if perfevered in, they would ionic an ardent, an irrefiflible fpirit in this count?y to oppofe them. It was faid that our honour had been •maintained in the negotiation, but that would depend not on the magnitude of an objeA, but on the tone and manner in which it was ad hered to or abandoned. A tingle- point, if given up to an enemy that imperioufly Willed upon it, might be a facrifice of honour. ' Mr Sheridan then went over the different Rrounds and pretences of war—Holland, Brabant, eligion, Social Order, Indemnity for the Palt, Security for the future ; and he (hewed that nst one tingle objca which had at various times bees held forth, had aaually been gained by the Pea Ce. —We had fpent 3c0,0c0,0001. fterling, and 200,000 lives too, and after all were contented to obtain fuch a treaty as this. Could it be laid that our acquifitions of Ceylon andTrinadad were corn penfauons ? If fo, they ought to be in future de fignated by names defcriptive of the circumftances and nature of the acquifition. The one, for in ftance, ought to be called Security /fiend, the other Indemnity /And. Paffing to 'the fiate of the Con tinent, he fliewed how alarming was the power of France, and when he heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer fay, that he entertained no anxi ety on the comparifon of the power of England with that of France, he was more inclined to ad• mire his courage than his political wifdom and Caga city. He commented with much humour on the argument, that Bonaparte had become the extir pator of Jacobinifm. The child and champion of Jacobinifm had now turned his arms againft his mother. True it was that Bonaparte, after having ferved his turn with Jacobinifm, would turn againft that which he feared might turn againft him I But what was Boaaparte's reformation ! How had "he ailed pardon of GOD and Man !" He had asked pardon of GOD, not by redreffing the wrongs and relieving the claire:les of fuffering piety, but by making a tool of Goo's Vicegerent —by recalling, with the &laths of curates, fuch of the old clergy as were bafe enough to be come his fworn (pies and informers againfl what ever yet remained of ancient loyalty.—How had he asked pardon of Man ? Was it by fpread• ing his iron rule over the faireft part of Eu rope? Was it by threatening tie honeft, the philo fophic, the learned, the religions, the hofrits !de Swift, with even extinaion of their country, leaf forfoath, their difurtiers fhotild carry havock and defolation into furronnding countries ? If fuch be his forms of alking pardon of Can and man, I heartily pray that we may be delivered Earn his penitence and piety. But it teems that by giv ing back all the colonies of France, we acquire a new hold of Bonaparte, and make him a very - quiet and peaceable neighbour. It is true ( lays the Right Hon. Gentleman), the Chief Confal had a military edneation, and has been fomewhat roej, but clap him beh ind a counter, and he will become the 66101 perfon in the univerfel So upon this argument the ceflion of colonies is no facrifice se all. It is a molt cunning hint for Bonaparte, and the has fallen into the trap. Foolik fay they, to pink of fighting with fuch a alas : make a Welt