Star.
London, England, 1805-02-13 00:00:00

At a-late hotti Mr. FOX rote, and began by oh-
retying that it was the lets neeetrary for him to occu-
py much of theil attention, fence the arguments urged
by his Hon. Friend who moved the Addrefs remain-
ed completely unanfwered ; and the Hon. and Lear-
ned Gentleman who had jug fat down, had not at all
fucceeded in overthrowing the doctrine laid down in
the fpeech of his Hon. and Learned Friend near him
(Dr.Lawrence)—a rpeeeb not only replete with good
fenfe, but what was far more valuable, with the molt
enlightened and liberal maxims of policy. But what
fill farther ruperfeded the necctlhy of his going into
any length of diftuffion was, that the Hon. and Lear-
ned Gentleman had not, in the courfe of his reelbh-
ing, attempted to uphold the diftindion betwikt a
fieipenfion of hoftilities and a fyftem Of neutrality, by
which we were to be placed in a More favourable
fituation, and enabled to take whatever advantages
we thought proper, whenever a convenient opportu-
nity offered itfelf. He confeffed that the langua
he
had heard on this fubjed from the Right Hon. Ge
who opened the dircuffinn, and other Gentle-
men on the fame fide, frock him with anonithment.
It was neither more or Ids than the language of pas
fraud. When he heard the right of putting an end to
neutrality affected, jolt at that period when we could
take the greaten advantage of the Rate with which
the neutrality previoully gained, he could not help
confidering it as altogether =infirm. He was
happy to find the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had
not attempted to ruppott filch a doctrine as this, that
we would be jullified in entering into an implied
agreement with another power, by which that power
conceived itfelf fee from attack, merely with the
purpofe of renewing hoffilities, at the moment when
they were lean expelled. He was glad to find, at the
fame time, that the Learned Gentleman was not
difpofed to deny the exittence of that agreement,
which Come other Gentlemen teemed fo anxious.
either to deny altogether, or to mifreprefent its
nature and extent. lie hoped the Houfe would
hear no more of the idea of appearing to acquiefo!
in an arrangement, and afterward* dirclaiming its
exittence. when Come finitter or criminal purpofe
was to be promoted. He had read in an ancient
tragedy of one of the characters expreffing a with
to Jupiter, that for the purpofe of preventing the ef-
feds of deceit, man had been provided with two voi-
ces, the one for the utterance of truth and the other
for the utterance of fallihood. It had not, indeed,
pleated the Government of the world to form filch an
arrangement, but if there was not an ghat differ-
ence of voice, there was an eternal difference of
language, and if there was any dictionary for this
language it would be important to have it under-
Rood, that to pars over was not to acquiefce in—that
to wave the exercife of a right was merely to wait
for the convenient moment to employ it with greater
effect. If he had underlined the Honourable and
Learned Gentleman, he confined his grounds of the
war chiefly to two circumliances: The firm of there
he had filed the remote cede, and the armaments
in the Spanith ports he had defcribed as the proximate
caufe of the renewal of hoftilities. With refpell to
the remote caufe of the war he bad no difficulty in
f.iyinp, that if the treaty of Ildefonfo was an °fen-
five Treaty. and he had alto as little hefitation in
adding, that he did confider it in that light, its er-
Mence was unqueftionably a clear ground of war
againft Spain. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman
had fated, that this Treaty was hill more Wile to
this country than the family crimped, as the fuccours
nipulated were to be given without any right to ark
for explanation ab to the grounds of the war in which
they might happen to be employed. He was not
quite Cure that in the family centime there was an
abfolute clank to this effect, but certainly this pe-
remptory power of demanding the fuccours had
always been urged as one of the moll powerful
menu againli that Treaty. However this might be,
it was not very material to the prefent argument. But
though he coincided entirely with the Hon. and
Learned Gentleman, as to the right of this country
to compel Spain to renounce the Treaty of Ilde-
fonfo, or to declare hottilities againft her, he took
up his grand objection to the condud of Mininers,
in not coming to an immediate explanation on the
Cultic& as foun as ever hollilities were renewed between
this country and France. Admitting our tight to de-
clare war, it became a queftion of policy whether Tome
arrangement could not he formed by which the good
underltanding betwixt the two countries might be pre -
ferved. Such an arrangement. he confeffeds appeared
to himconfittent with a liberal policy,and Minillers ap-
peared to have entertained a limiter opinion. When war
with France became inevitable, it was cagy enough
to forefee that Spain min, from her engagement with
France, loon be brought into a difagreeable dilem-
ma, and what he complained of was, that no Reps
were taken by Minifters to make provifion for the
confequences. In the firft letter of Lord Hawker-
bury, he found our Minitter at Madrid, ordered to
make the ftrideft inquiries refpeding the views of the
Court of Spain, and afterwards it did not appear that
he ever came to any explanation on the rubjed. An
Honourable Member on the fame bench, (Mr. Banks)
had, in his rpeech, attempted to point out what were
the relative duties of the two countries in rather a
novel ftyle. He had fated that initialers, opennefs,
and candour were required of Spain; that vigilance,
circumfpcttion, and jealonfy were the duty of this'
country. He confelfed he had ever conceived that
franknefs was a quality which could only be mutual.
If we wilhed others to he frank, we molt fiat be frank
ourfelves. Uwe expelled full and candid explanation,
it was fiat incumbent on us to exhibit, in our own
conduit, proofs of opennefs and integrity. There ob-
lemtiens were founded, not on the laws of nations,
or the cunoms of England, but in the cnnftitution of
things, and the laws of our being. Till he had per-
ufed the letters on the table, he had not conceived it
poffible that any lines but two could have been purfu-
ed. The firft was a determination for infant war.
lf, on the contrary, a different courfe was to be at-
tempted, that no time would be loft while the difpo-
fition of the Spaniards remained amicable, to conclude
any arrangement by which their neutrality might be
preferved. What then was it that Knitters had done
to accomplith this moo important °Wed ? In the
month of June, Lord Haskefbury had given our
Minitter at Madrid no powers to form any arrange-
ment ; and five months elapfed during which nothing
was done, and that when Minifters could not be ig-
norant.that French intrigue would be fufficiently ac-
tive in inlligating Spain to ad up to the terms of the
Subfidiary rusty. During all this period there is