granted for fpecial purpofes, and continued, though the reafons for them have ceafed?

Whether any warrants for beneficial grants have been directed? And on the whole,

Whether the public expences have increafed beyond the fupplies annually granted by parliament?

This, which would be a duty incumbent upon parliament, were the exifting war ever fo neceffary, juft, and fuccefsful, is become moft urgent and indifpenfable, in a contest at once bloody and expenfive beyond example, without plan or object, except fuch objects as the misconduct of the war first created; attended with a waste of money profufe almpft beyond imagination; which has already reduced our trade to a dependence on the very warfare which is fundamentally deftroying it, and has fo exhaufted our refources, as to drive us to the wretched expedient of reviving taxes which were a few years fince repealed, upon the ground of thereby increafing the revenue an effect which that repeal produced, and a policy which muft, therefore, on the return of peace, be again reforted to, and which will confequently bring with it the neceffity of finding new taxes, if new and productive taxes can be invented in our then exhausted ftate.

In a fituation fo alarming, and fo manifeftly tending to destroy the confidence of the people in parlia ment, which (as every reflecting man must have, with deep concern, obferved) has for fome years paft been rapidly on the decline; it behoves parliament, by a timely revival of its ancient energy and in tegrity, to convince the people that their conftitutional guardians are

awake to the common danger, and are determined to come forward with fuch firm measures of public order and reform, as will effectually relieve the fubject, and remedy evils, which, if ftill fuffered to accumulate, will be paft ail remedy, and muft inevitably terminate in public confufion.

The above refolutions were negatived by a majority of 104

to 12.

Refolutions moved in the Houfe of Commons, on the 10th of May, 1796, by Mr. Fox, for an Addrefs to his Majefly, on the Conduct of Adminifiration, in the Commencement and Progrefs of the War.

That an addrefs be prefented to his majefty, moft humbly to offer to his royal confideration, that judgment which his faithful commons have formed, and now deem it their duty to declare, concerning the conduct of his minifters in the commencement, and during the progrefs of the prefent unfortunate war. As long as it was poffible for us to doubt from what fource the national diftreffes have arisen, we have, in times of difficulty and peril, thought ourselves bound to ftrengthen his majefty's government, for the protection of his fubjects, by our confidence and fupport. But our duties as his majesty's counfellors, and as the reprefentatives of his people, will no longer permit us to diffemble our deliberate and determined opinion, that the diftrefs, difficulty, and peril, to which this country is now fubjected, have arifen from the mifconduct of the king's minifters, and are likely to fubfift and increafe, as long as the fame principles which have hitherto guided (F 3)

these

thefe minifters, fhall continue to prevail in the councils of Great Britain.

It is painful for us to remind his majefty of the fituation of his dominions at the beginning of the war, and of the high degree of profperity to which the fkill and induftry of his fubjects had, under the fafeguard of a free conftitution, raised the British empire, fince it can only fill his mind with the melancholy recollection of profperity abufed, and of opportunities of fecuring permanent advantages wantonly rejected. Nor fhall we prefume to wound his majefty's benevolence, by dwelling on the fortunate confequences which might have arifen from the mediation of Great Britain between the powers then at war, which might have enfured the permanence of our profperity, while it preferved all Europe from the calamities which it has fince endured. A mediation which this kingdom was fo well fitted to carry on with vigour and dignity, by its power, its character, and the nature of its government, happily removed at an equal distance from the contending extremes of licen'tioufnefs and tyranny.

From this neutral and impartial fyftem of policy his majefty's minifters were induced to depart by certain measures of the French go vernment, of which they complained as injurious and hoftile to this country. With what juftice thofe complaints were made, we are not now called upon to determine, fince it cannot be pretended, that the measures of France were of fuch a nature as to preclude the poffibility of adjustment by negotiation; and it is impoffible to deny, that the power which fhuts up the channel of accommodation, must be the real aggreffor in war.

To reject negotiation is to determine on hoftilities; and whatever may have been the nature of the points in queftion between us and France, we cannot but pronounce the refufal of such an authorized communication with that country as might have amicably terminated the difpute, to be the true and immediate caufe of the rupture which followed.

Nor can we forbear to remark, that the pretences under which his majesty's minifters then haughtily refufed fuch authorized communication, have been fufficiently expofed by their own conduct, in fince fubmitting to a fimilar Intercourfe with the fame govern. ment.

At

The mifguided policy, which thus rendered the war inevitable, appears to have actuated the minifters in their determination to continue it at all hazards. the fame time we cannot but obferve, that the obftinacy with which they have adhered to their desperate fyftem, is not more remarkable than their verfatility in the pretexts upon which they have juftified it. At one period the ftrength, at another the weakness of the enemy have been urged as motives for continuing the war: the fucceffes, as well as the defeats of the allies, have contributed only to prolong the conteft; and hope and defpair have equally ferved to involve us ftill deeper in the horrors of war, and to entail upon us an endless train of calamities.

After the original profeffed objects had been obtained by the expulfion of the French armies from the territories of Holland and the Auftrian Netherlands, we find his majefty's minifters, influenced either by arrogance or by infa tuated ambition and the vain hope

of

fincereft fatisfaction, his majefty's moft gracious meffage of the 8th of December, wherein his majefty acquaints them, that the crifis which was depending at the commencement of the prefent feffion, had led to fuch an order of things, as would induce his majefty to meet any difpofition to negotiation on the part of the enemy, with an earnest defire to give it the fulleft and speedieft effect, and to conclude a general treaty of peace, whenever It could be effected on juft and equitable terms for himself and his allies.

That from this gracious communication, they were led to hope for a speedy termination to this moft difaftrous conteft; but that, with furprise and forrow, they have now reafon to apprehend that three months were fuffered to elapfe before any Reps were taken towards a negotiation, or any overtures made by his majefty's fervants.

With equal furprife and concern they have obferved, when a fair and open conduct was fo peculiarly incumbent on his majefty's minifters, confidering the prejudices and fufpicions which their previous conduct must have excited in the minds of the French; that instead of adopting that open and manly manner which became the wifdom, the character, and dignity of the British nation, they had recourfe to a ftyle calculated rather to excite fufpicion, than to infpire confidence in the enemy. Every expreffion which might be conftrued into an acknowledgment of the French republic, or even an allufion to its forms, was ftudioufly avoided; and the minifter, through whom this overture was made, was in a most unprecedented manner Structed to declare, that he had

no authority to enter into any negotiation or difcuffion relative to the objects of the proposed treaty.

That it is with pain we reflect that the alacrity of his majefty's minifters in apparently breaking off this incipient negotiation, as well as the ftrange and unusual manner in which it was announ-, ced to the minifters of the various powers of Europe, affords a very unfavourable comment on their reluctance in entering upon it, and is calculated to make the moft injurious impreffion refpecing their fincerity on the people of France.

On a review of fo many inftances of grofs and flagrant mifconduct, proceeding from the fame pernicious principles, and directed with incorrigible obftinacy to the fame mifchievous ends, we deem ourselves bound in duty to his majefty, and to our conftituents, to declare that we fee no rational hope of redeeming the affairs of the kingdom, but by the adoption of a fyftem radically and fundamentally different from that which has produced our prefent calamities.

Uniefs his majesty's minifters fhall, from a real conviction of paft errors, appear inclined to regulate their conduct upon fuch a fyftem, we can neither give any credit to the fincerity of their profeffions of a wifh for peace, nor repofe any confidence in them for conducting a negotiation to a profperous iffue. Odious as they are to an enemy who with ftill to believe them fecretly to cherish thofe unprincipled and chimerical projects which they have been compelled in public to difavów, contemptible in the eyes of all

Europr

Europe, from the difplay of infincerity which has marked their conduct, our only hopes reft on his majefty's royal wifdom and unqueftioned affection for his people, that he will be graciously pleafed to adopt maxims of policy more fuited to the circumstances of the times than thofe by which his majesty's minifters appear to have been governed, and to direct his fervants to take measures, which, by differing effentially, as well in their tendency as in the principle upon which they are founded, from thofe which have hitherto marked their conduct, may give this country fome reasonable hope, at no very diftant period, of the establishment of a peace fuitable to the interefts of Great Britain, and likely to preferve the tranquillity of Europe.

This motion was negatived by a majority of 216 to 42.

P

I muft, in a more particular manner, return you my thanks for the liberal fupplies which you have granted to meet the exigencies of the war.- While I regret the extent of thofe demands which the prefent circumftances neceffarily occafion, it is a great confolation to me to obferve the increafing refources by which the country is enabled to fupport them. These refources are particularly manifefted in the ftate of the different branches of the revenue; in the continued and progreffive state of our navigation and commerce; in the fteps which have been taken for maintaining and improving pub. lic credit, and in the additional provifion which has been made for the reduction of the national debt.

My lords and gentlemen,

I fhall ever reflect with heartfelt fatisfaction on the uniform witdoin, temper, and firmnefs which have appeared in all your proceedings, fince I first met you in this place. Called to deliberate on the public affairs of your country in a period of foreign and domeftic

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