The Sun.
London, England, 1801-03-27 00:00:00

ril."-•
Ttilt nay were tO6 prise td-Orrllg 111- VCITIVO ilinle.
`' cessarily into di.lcussion. The Right Hon. Gentle-
' man said they were too weak to contest it. Be it
(
V. as it might, the Right Hon. Gentleman who then
[ came into Parliament, concurred with him in think- '
ing, that postponing the discussion was discreet and
1 ' wise. But in the year 1782, in that short Admi- ,
nistration of which Mr. l.ox made a part, he offer-
ed the EhirßiSS of RUSSIA to concede this question,
on condition of her entering into an ac'tive Alliance,
' • with Great ;Britain, to bring France to a fair and
moderate Peace : it was as a boon of considerable
value to the Empress to receive, and yet the Admi-
nistration thought it a concession which they might
'safely offer as a quid pro quo. But the Hon. Gen-
tleman hid said, that it was a most fortunate thing
for England that it was not accepted by Russia, as
inithis War it would have prevented us from ex-
tingaishing the Marine and Commerce 'of France.
1 Mr. Fox said it would have had no such effea ' • for
in the present War, by the , Declaration of Russia
herself at its commencement, she would have given
no facilities to -Frince. To say • that it would have
been dangerous to grant it to Russia, when -it was
.1. 'proved nugatory in the hands of the Dutch, was
most idle. What was the true meaning of this in-
.
. temperate conduit at present, but that the present
was thought a favbUrable moment for, a most impo-
' litic question ? Jacobinism was become stale, and
[.a -new cause for the War must be discovered.—As
r . to the dodrine of Convoys, if one State is to con-
Iv the Trade of another, it was a new doftrine, .
and be thought a viery fit subjed ibr representation.
—As to theiSeasch, if there was a strong ground of
, - suspicion, there v<ould be a search, siotwithstand.
ing the CotiVO, and the Government would be
justified in doing so. Suppose Spain, which is al..
ways at war with the Algerine States, should claim
the search of every British vessel passing through
the Gut, merely under pretext of her being at War
with Algiers, would you, or ought you, to submit
w it is... With respeCt to the Contraband of War, the
Right Hon. Gehileman reasoned euriously when he
talked a Ships and Timber, and Nav'al Stores, nit
, bejog foreseen as implements of war in 1694.
Great Maritime Powers were then in existence; and
: - it was idle to compare them with the article of
. Gunpowder, and Guns and Cannon. The whole of
the reasoning was unworthy of the talents of the
'Right Hon. Gentleman.. He owns that .he is. dis.
s_sprinted at hot being in at the death of his War.
Itas coming, he sap, to a cloie—yes-4t might be
coming to a close. -The utter discomfiture of. all
his schemes, and the failure of -all • his. pretexts,
Is might at length have brought the calamitous con.
test to a close, When this new. Contest was thought
ef, to perpetuate. the struggle. Not one word had
lie said of the Kim: of PRUSSIA.—Mr. Fox then
called to the recollettion of the House, the pretexts
( with which they had been amused from .year to
year, and the arrogant Proposition which' was made
to BONAPARTE'S dignified and conciliating Propo.
iiti6n of Peace, in January a Soo, when they 'mo-
destly proposed that he' should give himself up to.
the BOURBONS, or, in other words, hang himself..
.
1 . ile firmly believed that BONAPARTE was too wise,
too dignified; and too magnanimous, to.imitate their
gioss indecorum,.---Mr. Fox - then adverted to Mr.
• DisstoAS's asSeetion of 'the Successes of the War,
and he examined the pretensions to the charafler of
Success, -To the Navy he paid the •warmest tri.
hate of applause; of Lord SPENCER 'he spoke in
handsome terms. - Nothing, therefore', could be a
greater proof of the imbecility of . our Ministers,
than that in the service which depended upon them,
' • every thing had failed ; in that which' depended on
tlie men, every thing had succeeded. In all former
Wars, there had been Inquiries wherever there was
• disaster. He had talked of the Islands captured ; .
the capture of Islands was not the objeel of the
War. Our objeft was to proted Europe against
France. Have we done so ? And in the course of
. the• Wars which of the two Nations is the most
aggrandized--England or France ? They say that
' , • • there is only 160,6°0,0001. added to our Debt ; so
- the Hon. Gentleman. cuts off 56,000,0001. inure,
-- , . ,tor which the Income Tax is mortgaged—so that a
- debt to be paid by installments was to be considered
:.)o debt at all, It now costs us 38,000,00e1. a year
in Taxes, besides t0,000,0p01. for Poor.rates ; and
'''A .the whole Land Rent of the country was only
.25
millions. A country paying double its Land Rent in
mere Taxes was surely in a state demanding Inquiry.
The 'War, Secretary had talked much about the di.
-genitors Of Wars and he had in this instance sheZ,vil
l • us -the nature Of a diversion upon Lis principles.
• ne bad sent his koyal Highness, and an Army of
30,000 Men, to the only neck of land in the world,
i perhaps, where a fifth part of their own number
was equal to cope with them. After seven months,
it seems, they not only could not be drilled and
disciplined on account of the Frost, but they could
not be made acquainted with their own Officers !---
iBOITAPARTI and his Troops disregarded the frosts
iand Snows, of the Alps, and, spewed that no obstacle
was superior to the energy of his example. And
why not 'assist Austria after all this delay ? Why ?
1 ~. because Austria would_ have nothing to do with our
'Troops. They thought 20,0d0 British Troops
'‘,.lulci do them no service. They wished every
thing belonging to us to keep away but our Guineas.
--After the disgrace and disaster which has attend.
td this contest, we were told, forsooth, that the war
was drawing to a close—but how ? Was it by suc-
cess ? Wjiat was our situation ? 'Were not all the
great objects of the war defeated ? Were we not
! deserted by our Allies ? And when it was found
that no- .prospeCi of success remains, Negotia-
tion might be resorted to, and perhaps, as before,
a )4egotiation on the failure of which-those that
copduet it might. rejoices and which might lead to
' the establishment of another solid system of finance
Ministers might negotiate ; but was it for the Credit
of the Country that Parliament should, be held forth
t- o the world as ready to sandion an insolent rejeetion
of 2n
overture, or the humble application for Peace.?
..', That -the. Minister -who had carried with him the
Votes of the House in favour of War, could when
‘ ,he pleased whistle them back to Peace ?I t was by se.
..t Farating from Ministers, imaexpressing an indepentl-
-., eat sentiment that this ignominy could be avoided.
We were called Upon to grant to the new Ministers
:I!'., that _confidence which the ComtitutiOn authorizes.
fi,,i Undoubtedly that.enadence might be due, but. in a
,S -fil w sound interpretation. he as not disposed to think
• . , . •