XX. 1794. BOOK less opprobrious had been bestowed, as history evinced, on some of the greatest and best of men by some of the vilest and the worst--by Philip II. of Spain, against the prince of Orange; and, in our memory, by the infamous sycophants of power, against a Franklin and a Washington. Was any man, he asked, so weak as to doubt the resources of France when he contemplated the efforts made by America? Against an armed nation enthusiasts in the cause of liberty, Mr. Whitbread said, it was in vain to combine, and in the midst of our pretended successes we were called upon to make an extraordinary provision for our internal safety. He lamented the glorious and enviable situation of which his majesty had been deprived by the evil counsels of his ministers. Instead of being involved in a ruinous and hopeless war, he might at this moment have been the arbiter of peace to Europe: and the unfortunate Louis would, in all probability, have been indebted to the friendly mediation which he requested for the preservation of his throne and life. The motion was negatived, after a warm debate, by a very great majority.---A similar motion, brought forward by the earl of Guildford in the house of lords, was opposed by lord Hawkesbury, who characteristically declared, that, far from objecting to the treaties already made, he only wished XX. 1794. there were more, and should rejoice if there was BOOK not a neutral power in Europe. He justified the treaty with Sardinia, and maintained the perfect consistency of ministers, who had, in his opinion, acted in a manner highly meritorious. The motion of lord Guildford was rejected by the usual majority. 1 favor of La general Fitz The melancholy situation of general La Fayette Motion in and his companions, La Tour Maubourg and Fayette, by Bureaux de Pusy, who since their flight and cap- patrick. ture by the Austrians on neutral ground, and their subsequent transfer to Prussia, had been groaning under the most oppressive cruelty in the dungeons of Magdeburg, exciting the compassion of many respectable persons, general Fitzpatrick humanely and generously moved in the house of commons, on the 17th of March, for an address to the throne, beseeching his majesty to intercede with the court of Berlin in their favor. The general remarked, that La Fayette suffered for his attachment to the constitutional monarchy which we now wished to restore; in this cause nobly venturing his life and sacrificing his fortune; and he enlarged on the merits and services of that unfortunate person as far overbalancing any errors with which he might be chargeable.---It appeared that the king of Prussia being applied to for the release of La Fayette, had answered, that he was BOOK not his prisoner alone, but that of the Con XX. federate Powers jointly, and that he could be set 1794. at liberty only by the consent of all. Mr. Pitt opposed the motion as equally improper and and unnecessary, and denied that M. la Fayette's conduct was ever friendly to the genuine cause of liberty; nor would he admit that he deserved well of either country; and he affirmed, that the interference required would be setting up ourselves as guardians of the consciences of foreign states. Mr. Burke seconded Mr. Pitt in a speech of barbarous violence. He described M. la Fayette as the origin and author of all the calamities which had taken place in France, and he exultingly declared that no country claimed him but to inflict upon him the punishment due to a traitor, Mr. Courtney, in answer to these reflections, observed, that as well might all the atrocities of the civil war of the last century in this country be charged upon Hampden and his illustrious associates, as those committed in France upon M. la Fayette. Why endeavour to steel the hearts of the house against an unhappy captive, perishing in the dungeons of Magdeburg? In their eagerness to support the war, some gentlemen seemed to fear nothing but the enthusiasm of liberty, while despots might, for aught they XX. cared, carry misery and anarchy through the BOOK world. Popular commotion was like a tempest, violent but of short duration : Sometimes too it 1794. purified the air; and he would rather be exposed to the utmost fury of the storm, than consent to breathe the pestilential atmosphere of despotism. The motion was negatived by a majority of more than an hundred voices, by the influence of the minister merely; for the feelings of the house were evidently interested in favor of the victim of Austrian perfidy,. It was, however, strongly suspected that neither the king of Prussia, or the emperor, was the monarch in Europe the most averse to M. la Fayette's restoration to the blessings of freedom-those blessings of which he had been so instrumental to the establishment in America. an enquiry losses on the major Mait On the 10th of April, major Maitland, brother Motion for to the earl of Lauderdale, moved for a committee into the of the whole house to inquire into the causes of continent, by the failure at Dunkirk and the evacuation of land. Toulon, which he enforced by a speech containing severe animadversions on the conduct and policy of administration. Mr. Jenkinson, son of lord Hawkesbury, rose in opposition to the motion, and took a retrospective view of the transactions of the last campaign, which (he said) not only demonstrated BOOK the valor of the British troops, but the wisdom of the British councils. He affirmed that this XX. 1794. country could not think of peace till the government of France, if it deserved the name, was annihilated; and it was the duty of his majesty's ministers to assist every party that should arise to overturn it. He was ready to confess, indeed, that government to be strong; but, paradoxically speaking, the stronger it was, so much the more easy was it to be destroyed. The Jacobin Club at Paris gave the tone to the whole kingdom : -let that club, then, be destroyed, and universal consternation and confusion would follow. This event could only be accomplished by marching directly to PARIS: a measure which his lordship asserted to be, in his opinion, very easy and practicable. But first it would be necessary to take some strong towns on the frontier, in order to open the communication with the inhabitants, who would be glad of the opportunity of flying from anarchy and despotism* * A comment equally amusing and instructive upon the system of those great politicians who advised the overthrow of the French republican government by marching directly to Paris, may be found in the celebrated Rabelais, book i. chap. 33. entitled, "How certain governors of king Picrochele, by their rash counsels, run him into the utmost danger." These governors were, it seems, the duke of Menreail, earl Spadasin, and captain Merdaille, who, by engaging him in a war with Grand |