Star.
London, England, 1803-05-27 00:00:00

rziCLIA4LENI Aftr PRuCEEDIA GS.

THE TOLLOWINC IS 7 HE sUBSTANCIL OF THE SPEECH

Df LIVERT D EY R. PITT, 014 moNnar.
!-Ie began by flatmg, with great c!:arnets, the dif
tin Lion between the Tietiion whether the conduit of
rt rotedemanded was? and the quellion whether the
tlinifiers deferred cer,furc or praife ? The fit-ft of
theti only he coofidered as the fubjeft of difciiffion
that night, and declared his intention of adhering to
that part.
The deeifion, whether cattle did or did not exift for
going to war with France, did not depend upon de-
termining what was the precife point at which relic
lance ought to have been made to the injurious prac.
ticesand security demanded against the hoftiledeligns
of France; but whether now a fufficient accumula-
tion of wrong, fufficient evidence of a hobble difpo-
fition ha; been teccived from France, to render war-
like mealores neceffiary ? Here he adverted to the
fpecch of :1/41r. Erfkine, who had spoken before him ;
and Caul he felt peculiar fatisfalion in flattering him-
fell that he might congratulate the Houle, and the
Country, upon complete unanimity in the opinion,
that-warlike meafures were neceffary. For if an in•
ference was to be drawn from the fentiments of that
Gentleman, to the fentiments of the other Gentle-
men with whom be bad in general coincided in opi-
nion, it might be concluded that they too, though
not exactly in concord with the reit of the Honfe as
to the particular opinion to be formed of every part
of the conduit of France, were yet no lets convinced
of the unjull, encroaching, and infolent spirit of the
Government of that Country, than any other party
in Parliament, and no lets sealonfly determined to
protedt their country from its effees.
The treaty of Amiens he had, he Paid, approved
of, not becaufe he thought the terms fatisfaaory ; for
who could think them fatisfaaory but becaufe he
thought them the bell which could be obtained, and
preferable in the (late of affairs at the time to war. If
however, France, from that day to this had manila-
ed every thing rather than a difpofition to aft on the
spirit of that Treaty of Peace, or any principles of
Peace ; if the acquilitions which the had made, and
the tpirit which the difplayed, were utterly incon-
fittent with the feeirrity of this country, what remain.
ed but to employ the refources of the country for the
prefervation of the country? It was worthy of remark,
he Paid, that the peculiar fpot which had been the
lafi scene of the zeal of Britain, againfi French am-
bition, was that chofen by France, whereon to begin
her attacks upon this country ; that the very ground
which bad been confecrated, it might be faid, in the
recollection of Britons, by the glory which had been
gained, and the heroic blood which had been flied on
fhould be chofen as the (pot on which the firs
attempts again(' their power, their glory, and their
fitonld be made. It was not folely the
publication of Sebaftiani's report, which he regarded
as evidence of the dangerous deigns of France upon
Egypt; nor the fentiments expreffed in that report,
though certainly many of theft were fufficiently offen-
five. The very miffion was in his opinion the firong.
eft proof that could be wanted. To fend an accre-
dited agent to traverfe and explore a country with
which the nation which fends him has no concern,
stud whith can be of no advantage to that nation,but
u a means of annoying a neighbouring nation, is fo
fufpicions and alarming a tranfaftion,that it is fcarcely
to be regarded fo much as an evidence of hobble de-
fign, as in truth a hofide aft. Were Great Britain
feeretly to dispatch a military officer to traverfe and
explore South Ametica, should we eafily perfuade
Spain, or any other part of Europe, that our inten-
tions were perfcely innocent? But France explain-
ed this tranfaftion. A book had been publilhed by
a Britiat officer, containing the molt atrocious and
hire imputations upon the lira Conful and his army;
and theft it was necelary to difprove.r Thole might
believe that the miffion of Sebaniani was to difprove
Sir Robert Wilfon's book, who could believe that
commercial agents, having fecret infiruftions to fend
foundings of our coasts, and plans of our harbours,
and to correspond in cyphers, were fent only for lite-
rary and fcientifie purples. But the °hied of fend-
ing Sebaftiani mull furely have been in the contem-
plation of his fenders, before he was fent. Now it
nnfortunately happened that the date of Seballiani's
departure for Egypt was previous to that of the arri•
val of Sir Robert Wilton in England, and Come
months previous to, the publication of his book.
What then was the cmdutt becoming Gra: Bri-
tain with regard• to deigns thus firongly exhibited,
dangerous in the laft degree to fome of her higheft
interefis ? To lay hold with all expedition poffible
upon the moll effectual feeurity againfl thole defigns.
hlal,a was that security; and had it already been
furrendered to France, i'uch defigns were fufficient to
have justified its recapture. Fortunately we were
laved that effort by its Rill remaining in our hands.
But, even independent of this moll just and fatisfac-
tory cause of its retention, nothing could be more
impudent than the menacing demands of the French
to furrender it; fume the conditions upon which
alone we have contented to furrender it had never
been fulfilled, and were now incapable of fulfilment;
and since we had thus a right to retain it till fome
other arrangement, which we might deem Satisfac-
tory, could be made.
Another circumftance of ferious portent was the
arifit of thole commercial agents; a (pecks of
(toners, the like to whom were probably never depu-
ted from one nation to another before; who could be
regarded as nothing but authorized (pies, and whom
would have been our buflnefs to hang, had we laid
rur hands upon them in time of war. So eat: aordi•
nary a cireumliance was this, that he thotild not be
fatisied with learning that such infidinus guefls had
been withdrawn, upon rcmontirance, by their own
.government ; he Mould with to know that they had
been ordered to tit the country caprefsly by his
Majeßy's Minifters.
Another attempt of the French Government was
one which mutt route the indignation of every man
'who had any particle of regard to the honour and
independence of his country, an attempt, whicb, if
yielded to, would place us on a level with the abufed
and degraded republics which were now the fcene of
triumph and injultice to the Chief Cordial; he meant
the attempt to interfere in the internal Government,
'in the, municipal regulations of this country, by the
demands spina the liberty of the peers, and the pro-
tcaksit of the French ern:grants. 'Theft demands
was teGited with (pith; wain tutu which did ho•

nonr to thole sae dinated them. And, forth% never
was a more inrpudcnt attempt made againft the pri-1
Taegu, againft the faith, honour, and generaty of
a great people.
-He thought with the Gentlemen who (poke before
him, that the fentiments manifefted by the Firft Con,
ful, in his converfation v.ith Lord Whitworth, were
not to be regarded as thole uttered in an ordinary
converfation. The perfon was not to.be looked upon
as Banding in an ordinary fituation. .Abforbing as
he did in his own perfon all the authorities of the Rate,
legiflative, executive, and judicative, the fentiments
of-Bonaparte were to be regarded as the fentiments
of the (late ; more erpecially as he declared that he
had chofen that mode of communication, as being
more explicit, more clear, and decifive, than that
through the medium of his Minifters.
After animadverting upon the behaviour of France
with regard to Switzerland and Holland, and noticing
the contiruaion put upon feveral of thefe acs by the
gentleman who (poke before him, Mr.- Pitt declared
his opinion to bd, that France exhibited fuch a fpirit
of ambition, of encroachment, and of enmity to this
country, as rendered it neceliary for us to retain the
means of fecurity againft that (pink which we had in
our hands, at any rifk of war, or of what that war
might colt us. With regard to the atm of the war,
he entertained, he (aid, the moft confident hopes
-but fhould only deceive the nation, if he did not
exprefsly deckle his opinion, that without facrifices
and efforts of a very extraordinary kind, this favour-
able conelufion was not very confidently to be looked
to. After a careful obfervatien of the behaviour of
Republican France during two years of peace, and af-
ter the opportunity he had poffeffed of fludying her
during a long period of war, in the critical and diffi
cult fituation in which it had been his lot to (land, be
thought it was not arrogating too much if he repofed
fome confidence in his own experience; and, upon
the ftrength of that experience, he thought it bit
duty to declare that his countrymen ought to be pre-
pared for the molt vigorous exertions. The fpirit,
the heroifm, the magnanimity with which they had
fupported the IA arduous, in many refpets fuccels-
ful, to moft glorious, and in all honourable conflia,
was beyond all praife and all example. Should the
prefent be as revere, fhould it even be as long, he had
no reafon to fuppofe they would (brink from it. But
he fhould only be trifling with them if he did not de-
clare his opinion, that 'fall as were the facrifices made
to maintain the laft important ftruggle, thole =d
iary to maintain the prefeut were not unlikely to be
Rill greater.
He concluded by laying, that the obje& of France
was twofold, to intimidate and diforder us by threats
and attempts at invafion, and to wear us nut by a
war upon our finances. Our objeas ought to be. in
the firft place, to fyftematize a complete and effec-
tual plan of defence, that every man might have the
comfort after the extraordinary facrifices for which he
might be called upon, of laying down his head in
peace, with the knowledge that -his family and what.
ever is dear to him is in fafety ; and next, by the
fpirit and patriotifm with which we give ourfelves to
fupport the conflict, to prove to France that the pro.
duetive powers of this country are adaquate to its de-
fence, and that we can defy her efforts without en-
dangering our fyflem of finance.