The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1795-04-21 00:00:00, page 1

ages of feudci tyranny. There was noth
ing in the motion which he had naw the
honor to prepofe, which involved any con
trac'iaion to the antecedent declarations 01
that house, or to which Miners could ob
fya as tending to cram? or enervate then
exertions. On the fubjed of a " perma
nene peace," much h,d been said, and
much wou'd undoubtedly be repeated this
night. But if ^ peJee was to be offered
to France, such as was confident with he
honor'and her intyeft, who could fay that
f"£ha Peace, if once made, would not be
the former government? Wars were ai
molt always the effeft of passion and prej
udice, and who would not fay that passion
and prejudice were no: more hkel, to pre
vad in a fi igle bosom than where it was to
be difeuffed by a number of men, as must
article of their new Conftitgrion, where ic
te^s formally dated, " that though France
Vas tie all, U ever, frecNauofylhc ffiouid
U rn
a HE Duke of Bedford arose in pur
suance cl the notice which he had given.
H fclt, he hid, so deeply impreffad by
the magnitude of the fubjed which he had
tto bring before their L udihips, as affec
ting the Bate of Europe,and the happiness
of millions ; that whilst he called the at
tention of their Lordlhips to the import
ance of the occasion, he felt it necessary
to claim a particular degree of indulgence
far himfelf. The mormon which he now
proofed to read, had been for feme time
before the Huue; but as it might not
have been read by feme of their Lord-
Ships, be Ihoald # ake the liberty to reflate
it. He read nis motion, which was to
the following tenor: &
" That no so m of Government which
may prevail in France, fam'd pre
clude a Negociation, or prevent a
Peace, when toe latter could be made
confidently with the Interest, the Hb
nour, and the Security of this Coun
try."
be the case in a Republic. But it was. said,
that it would be dithonorable for us to
come forward, and to offer terms, or, as
it was said, to " sue for peace." If na
tions had always ttood on such pundilios,
then war must have been eternal. If this
ridiculous pride were to be consulted,
there could be no peace on eartl. But there
were various precedents, where we had
departed from this haughty line of con
dha. At the end of the " Seven Year's
War," the proportion which brought a
tc it the Peace, was adually made by this
O^. '; that whch was previously made
by France having been rejected.
The present War he must ever contend,
was a war of aggressions on our part. The
French had studiously exerted themselves
to do away what, on our part, were as.
signed a) the provocations. The Decree
bf Fraternization passed on the memorable
tyh of November, 1792, had not only
been recalled by an cfpecial vme, " that
the Republic, while it defended its own,
would never interfere in the Government
of any other country :" but it flood even
contradided in the articles of thru mew
Conftriution. It was decreed in the nth
The delation which hai prevailed in
this country, it was n:>w high rime to do
gOTb>-4Qen in that house appeals ™ot
been made To-be gamins of their Lord
blips, which had induced them to Dear
wall a Language wm^ 1.1 former and b„,
ter times they could not poffi->lv have
borne. The nenci a v t a war ujque ad in
ternectonem, was such as ecu d tea ^el,'have
been tolerated, bn in the molt barbarous
[No. 4. ofVoL. III.]
BRITISH PARLIAMENT.
MOTION FOR PEACE.
HOUSE OF LORDS,
Tuefday, January 27.
Or, CHESHIRE
THE
Columbian Informer ;
never interfere to second the views of the
difcbnceried in any other country." In a
fp^ech of Danton, this was particularly
explained, where he ridiculed the expan
ded views of those who could forget their
neared interests, to faperintend the prrj
acts of a few Patriots, arming to bring
about a Revolution in China !
Among the various instances of decep
tion with which the passions of their Lord-,
fh-ps had been a (Tailed, was&the mention
of the introduction of the Jacobin princi
ples into this country. But did this al
lude to the Jacobin party ia France, or
did it, include the whole of the French
Nation? If the former party was in fad
destroyed, if the French Nation in gene
ral was meant, what would be said to any
individual who came to propagate his
principles ? If he faid,—" you Ihould
make yourselves all equal —you should
Jeffrey the Kings, Lords and Commons"
—what would be the reply ? An huneit
Englishmen would naturally a& —“ what
is the reason which induced you to leave
the country which you 1 -ve and the liber
ty in which you rejoice ? What are the
forfeits which you have paid for your fee
dom? You have loft your Commerce, you
have resigned your perfonaf fafity ; you
have lecn your bed defenders uniformly
consigned to the fcaffbld !'' The man who
was io barefaced as to deny that this mutt
be the language of an inde^a&awfoff ■
liftman, caltnn^^d&e feelings of Bag.
^i^&grfrh^T^d Contiitunon of his coun
try.
The fears of flip French Jacobies nrl,
f the duOniinatiun of French money in
aid t, their principles, formed the chief
ground of the arguments of the Alarmilh
in the course of the last fellion. But at the
prefcat, the Jacobins were delt o)ed,and,
if Ministers themselves were to be believ
ed, their refoure '$ were too contrasted to
apprehend any danger from the money
v nich may beexpended by French agents.
The objects of our dread, being thus re
moved, it was in fairnefs to be aiked, on
what our hopes were founded ? Was it on
:he new efforts of our Allies? These he
vas free to fay too, had fallen off from
the contest, or if they were Hill to adhere,
and to redouble their effaris, there did not
arise the remotest probability of success.
Was it on the failing resources of Fiance ?
This was a deception, which it was to be
emembered,was not naw praaifed for the
lirfttime ; the deception was annual ; i:
had been dated exattly in the fame way last
year, and every particle of the prediaions
had been found wrong. With respect to
any reliance on our Allies, it was to be
observed, that the Emperor and the King
of Prullia had both declared themselves sot
peace. The Emperor when voting as the
Arch Duke of Austria, had determined in
favor of peace. He only required that the
time for making it should be left to his own
bosom. The Emperor was obviously for
peace ; so much so that it was to be doubt
ed whether the fix millions, to b; granted
by this country would weigh with any es
fed on the contrary case. But with ref
ped to the finances of France, even if
those regularly derived frum the people
should fail, it was (till to be considered
that there could be no want of the necessa
ry (applies. When the couteft was unde
ftood to be for Liberty, and even for ex
istence, every man muff be^ supposed to
furnilh the means, even to his last (hill
ing. The feelings of men in different
countries,on similar oecalions,were nearly
the fame. He would a& of their Lord
ships, whether, in such a coateft, they
w^ld not individually, affiant to the fac
r fice of nine tenths of their annual income ?
The French Nation made up at lealt one
eleventh of the whole of Europe. It was
clear that when the Neutral Powers were
excluded, theyswould not be out number
ed. But the question of numbers was pu
wholly out of the argument, when their
PRINTED and PUBLISHED in KEENE, New-Hampshire.
TUESDAY,
Ihewi that they were a&ually with the
Frc—h. The only mode of argument
which was now used, because it was the
onifone Which was left, refled wholly on
an appeal to the paflions. This was call
ed ^e War of God, and Humanity. In
hjs opinion, no War could be called a
Wa; of Humanity. If the present could
eve; have affirmed that title it was when
thi; country might have interfered to save
, the life of the late unfortunate and regret
ted, Monarch of France ; but in fad our
interference had but tended to accelerate
h:s death. To our efforts were to be attri
buted the fyflems of terror and desolation
which had pervaded that country. To
all the miseries which had prevailed in that
unhappy Country our Ministers were cer
tainly acceffary, and for the result they
we e as certainly accountable.
After the lofa of 50,000 met, that
Hode was now to be told, that the com
mate of Public Safety could not last. A
C Amiga# of which, one fourth went out
m^.thly by rotation, may in one sense be
l.<id not to last. Those who argued thus,
m^y be supposed to speak from a certain
LQ^ee of feeling, as if any changes of
^sifters must be in a certain degree ru
%4s to the country where such a change
?ojk place. I tone change they had par
~&QI, exulted, and that was in the
change of moderatifm which had lately
taken place. They did not exult in this
however, from any motive of humanity,
from any belief that murder and massacre
were to be at an end : Their rejoicings
were founded on the principle, that as the
system of Terror had ceased, and one
which was believed to be less rigorous,had
taken place, they would be better able to
annihilate their opponents, and to etted
heir proposed march to Paris ! They wish
ed not to witness the crffaticn,but to regen
erate the progress of murder and rapine.
The crimes of the French were numerous,
but he appealed to the learned and Rever-
APSI L 11, 179,
those who they previously led to vidory.
The War was certainly less popular in this
country, than it had been; in what de
gree it was not necessary at present to dis
cuss. If Ministers were inclined to ren
der those unanimous and firm, who had
bees less vigorous, and less cordial, than
might have been expeded, it could only
be d)ne by the assent of Ministers, given
to his present motion. Speaking from
himfelf, he must frankly fay, that cho' he
had het opposed the supplies, he could not
conceal, that he disapproved of the princi
ple of the War, aad that by lending a
end Bench before him, and emphatically
aiked,whether the talk of punishment should
be cur's, or whether we should arrogate
to oorfelves that vengeance, which prop
erly belonged to Heaven ? The effect of
this motion, was to unite Eugliihmen in
he present conteft,and in the fame degree
to disunite the People of France. It had
been idly predicted,that the tyranny which
had been experienced by the People of
France, would bring them back to a love
of Royalty. The contrary of this was
the faft. After all our successes on the
Northern Frontier, to the Eastward,in Al
sace, and even in Toulon, was it foun*/
that one solitary Frenchman, oct of the
Territories in our immediate possession,
came to avail himfelf of the protedion of
the Allies? When Dumourier, whose es
forts at one time, had saved France from
butchery, had deserted the cause in which
he had engaged, he was followed only by
a single regiment of the line. Since that
period, many of their favorite Generals
had fallen on the fcaffold ; but the influ
encein the armies had not fubtraded in
the fmalleil degree from the enthusiasm of
new acceflions of territory were configured.
They had not only got possession of Belgi
um, bat of Holland. The latter acqui
faich went more particularly to the pres
ent follion. The Dutch were not mere
ly fautral, but recent occurrences had
JOURNA L.
more decided support, he ihould have
deemed himfelf an acceffary in the blood,
which Ministers had ffied. But if a Peace
was .now offered, aid the mode in which
the Peace was now to be made, was com
pletely left <o Ministers—is France were
haughtily and pertinaciously to refefe her
assent, it was scarcely necessary t o flan
what would be the altered feelings es this
country. Inffead of fighting by the fide
of mercenary Allies, purchased by us, and
probably to be purchased by France ; in-
Bead of fighting with, and for men, in
whose defence we had embarked, and
were only repaid by their abhorrence,En
glilhmen would feel themselves at length
fighting on a proper ground.—They were
now fired for liberty, they felt that the,
were fighting against it. But if a peace
was offered to, and refufed by France, it
mull be understood, that with victories Ef
ficient to gratify her utmeft ambition, Ihe
could mediate nothing less than the con
quest of this country. [Here the Nolle Duro
<was interrupted in this fofl part of hie
Speech, by the sudden illnejs of Lord Middle
ton, u>ho was taken with a sudden faintnefs,
and led nvith difficulty out es the Houje.]
-—The object of last year,the Noble Duke
resumed, was the dedrudion of the Jaco
bins : That club was now detiro,ed.
Were we now on any other pretence e
qually idle to continue the War, with the
lame inveteracy ? The Republic of France
had declared that they would not enter on
the use of a regular frame of Government,
until Peace was restored. Were we ,'
to call their attention, to fr Premiers,#^
never to leave the mind es the per pie to
its natural operation—the only operations
from which a Counter Revolution a@ @
be expelled ? Were we to carry on the
war with all its increasing unpopularity,
and with an energy diminishing in the
fame proportion ? Was it never to be con
hdered, that as the termination of the
War was removed, the anxiety of these
employed, would be less ?— Was the War
10 be continued until France was raztd
from the face of the earth ? If the prelent
motion was adop,.d and refuted by
France, the confequencs would be, that
we should forget, for the time, the en
croachments on our liberties at home, to
refill our invaders from abroad. No man
could be so cowardly as to fay,that in such
an effort we Ihould not succeed ; every
man would lose his life more willingly in
the defence ot his own liberty ; though he
may feel some relu&ance in aiding to
wrell its freedom from another country.
The distresses of France, the deprecia
tion of their a£ignats, and their want of
provisions, were fill the themes of decla
mation. In those hopes we should not ex
ult too much. The want cf corn, and the
Idiftreffes of the poor, were fu ffciently no
torious. Those, who had before the War,
made a comfortable subsistence, were new
literally in want of bread. Our Affig
nats —he did not speak of the Bank of
England Notes, but of the Stocks, were
depreciated by nearly onethird. His Gracq
said, that he could dwell much more on
this fubjed, but that he would not be in
debted to their Lordship's feelings for their
decifiun : His appeal was made to their
judgments. He concluded, therefore,with
reciting the words of his motion.
Lord Grenville opposed the motion.—
He paid a compliment to the candid and
manly manner in which the Noble Duke
had introduced his motion, and condoled
his argument in support of it : Yet, the
Noble Lord said, he could not, confident
ly with his duty to his Majesty, to that
House, or to his Country, avoid giving
his sentiments i n direa opposition to those
of the Noble Duke. He could not by a
ny means bring himfelf to believe, that
the present ®as a moment proper or con
venient for this country, under the exit
ing circumstances, to adopt the means of
negociating, or forwarding negooiatian.
l^ftlwfi^„n^^%igfoa
[Whole No. 108.]