REMARKS ON A LATE PUBLICATION, STYLED THE HISTORY OF THE POLITICS OF GREAT BRITAIN ^ FRANCE, I ' " '. By WILLIAM BELSHAM. LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. G. AND J. ROBINSON, PATER NOSTER-ROW. 1800. [r. Davifon, White Friars.'] B y55.77 CONTENTS. SECTION f. i^ONFENTIOIif of Pilnitz-^Honourahk con. duB qf Great Britain ift relation thereto^-' Alfo refpeBin^ the f/land qf St. Do-rfiingo—^ Favourably difpofed to the Fretjch Monarchical ^onjiitution of 1791. Accidental difpute oc- cafoned hy the capture of a Frerigh frigate in ...^he Eaft Indies amicably adjujied. SECTION II, SeJ/ton of Parliament in 1792 — Pacific difpqfitipn of the Englijh Government. War between France arpd Aiiftriq. Overtures on the part of France for an alliance with England re- jeBed. Proclamation ijfued againft traitorous and feditious writings. England refifes her piediation apd good offices to France, SECTION III. ^ecaf qf fjord Gwjoef from Paris — Extreme i-m^ policy qf this meafure. Moderation of the French Gteoernrneni. Anxious fufpicions eX" ckedhy the recal. Ad^rejfes qf the Englijh democratic focieties to the Convention. Rajh and unjufifiable conduB qf the. Convention-^ PaJJionate refentment qf the Englijh Court-— Parliament convened—Great alarm excited— . Extraordinary meafUres rejblved upon. Prin ciples ciples bf Jacbhihifm gain groma in the Cdn*- ventiotii SECTION if. Correfpondmte between M. Chhuvelin arid Lord Grefivilkf—Mdnifefl incapacity of ^the Briiijh Menijfer in the conduB of fhe NegotiiCtion. Proceedings of the French Governmeiit^-^Re^ fnarks -upon tJiofe^ prbcttdings. (Jelebr'aied Jpeech of M. Brifot-. 'n -' " ' SECTION V. Peremptory ref ufal' of Lord Grenville Jt) receioe^ the Letters of CredeMe offered b-y Mi Chauvt-' Un — "Exceffive folly and impolicy (f this ref ufal. M, Chauvetin ordered to depart the kingdom iviihiri eight, days. Intere^i-hg and conf dential 7mJJion bf M. Maret—Kendefed meffeBual by the previous and ignoTninious difniffio-ii ef M. Chauvelih. Attempt of the BritiJh Mini/Try to renew the negbfiiafibn,' ikfough the medium of M. Dwmouries. Declaration ofixaron the- part of the Gdnventidn^ • '• ¦ ¦section' tl. CharaBer of Mr. Pitt invefiigated. The diplo^ matic talents of Lord Grenville contrafiedifvitk thofe of Sir J-Villid-ni Temple — Vreference given to the latter. Concluding ohferdatibns. •REBAllks REMARKS ON A LATE PUBLICATION, STYLED THE HISrORT OF THE POLITICS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE. HE celebrated queftion. Whether upon Great Britain or France refts the charge of aggrefEon in relation to the prefent bloody and deftruftiye war? hasi been fo long and fo ably contefted^ that littlCj either in regard to fafts or reafoning, for fome years paft, apparently remained to be added ; and it gradually and filently gave place to the more momentous enquiry, in prefent eir- cumftances, by what means it might with moft facility be terminated. It was therefore a fub- je£t of fome furprife when two o£tavo volumes were announced upon this exhaufted topic, from the pen of a writer well known and juftly efteem- ed in the literary world, which boafted to con tain fuch decifive information refpefting this point, , as to leave thofe without excufe who ;? hefitated ^ ¦ ¦'„•¦¦;' hefitated to acknowledge their perfe^ convic tion that the criminality remained exclufively with the French Govei'nmeht, and that the conduft of the Englifh Miniftry was not only fauklefs throughout this bufinefs, but in the higheft degree meritorious. In a tone of arrogance, for which great au thorities may indeed be pleaded, Mr, Herbert Marflr, the author of the work in queftion, tells us (vol. I. p. 218), " That though the numbef of thofe who were originally deceived was very confiderable, at prefent every man who choofis to fee muft fee their error." And again, p. 370, " That Minifters precipitated their country into *' a war witb France, is an opinion which no7 *' thing but party malevolence could fuggeft." Having upon a variety of occafions ftated my opinion fairly and fully, that the prefent Mini fters did precipitate the nation into a war with France, and ftill retaining that opinion with the fame unwavering firmnefs, after an attentive perufal of the chief fpeeches and publications which have appeared upon the fubjeft, and laft of a]] the publication of Mr, Marfh himfelf, I, and very many others whofe mode of thinking is as little likely to alter on this topic, muft ex pedi to be Gonfigned by thi^ gentleman to that clafs tlafs of incorrigibles whofe obftinacy and male volence render them infenfible to the cleareft demonftrations of reafon. In what light we, who confider the heads of the prefent admini- ftration as the grand and original aggreflbrs in this fatal quarrel (for the French Government inuft bear its fliare of blame), may appear to Mr. Marfli, is indeed a matter of perfe£l indif ference ; but it is of confequence that we fliould clear ourfelves to the public and to pofterity. And whoever brings forward a charge of this nature againft Minifters ftiould be prepared to luftain it, not in the fpirit of wantonnefs or ca price, and mi,ich lefs of " party malevolence," but in the ftrifteft regard to truth, juftice, and hiftoricai impartiahty. With this intent, and confcious of being ac tuated by no other motives, I propofe to enter into an examination of the principal arguments jadduced by Mr, Marfli in vindication of the conduft of the Britifli Government, avoiding for the moft part the difcuffion of thofe minutice which occupy fo large a proportion of the vo lumes now before me, but which ferve in reality lefs to enlighten than to embarrafs the' quef- tioa. SECTION SECTION I. Containing Remarks on Chapters /, II, III^ That iii th6 month of Auguft, in the year 1 791, a conference took place at Pilnitz, in S^xOny, between the Emperor Leopold and the King of Pruflia, which terminated in an agree ment or conveiitiori purporting defigns in the higheft degree alarming to France, is acknow-^ ledged. That thefe defigns were not then and there digefted into a formal treaty is extremely- probable : and upon this point the declaration of Lord Grenville, in his difpatch of June 20, 1797, to Lord Malmeft)ury, at Lifle, is fufiicient* ly fatisfa£tory. But, upon the decifive evidence of M. de Bouille and M. de Moleville, it is cer tain that the proje£l of the Emperor was no^ thing lefs than to form a league between all the powers of Europe, in order to compel the French nation to fubmit to fuch conditions as thofe powers might think fit to impofe. The latter indeed pretends that the Emperor meant to effeft his purpofe by intimidation merely ; but this this account of the matter is too puerile to me rit the leaft credit or attention. To this league Great Britain, much to the honour of its Government at that period, and to the difappointment of the combined Courts, re- fufed to accede ; and in relation to this famous, or rather infamous, coalition, as well as in other refpe£ts, flie appears to have aCled a part rather friendly than inimical to France. During the dreadful ftate to which the ifland of St. Domingo was reduced towards the clofe of the Summer of 179 1, in confequence of the infurreftion of the negroes, the town of Cape Francois being furrounded by an army of the jnfurgents, the moft leafonable and effeSlual re lief was afforded them by the generofity of Lord Effingham, Governor of Jamaica : and the Bri tifli Ambafl!jjtdor at Paris notified to the Court of France his Britannic Majefty's approbation of this proceeding; which being taken into confi- deration by the fecond National Affembly, No vember 5, that body, fo inferior in temper and wifdom to their predeceffors, difrefpeftfully and petulantly paflTing over the meflage of the King of England, whom they believed perfonally and jnyeterately adverfe to the French Revolution, vpted voted thanks to the Engliih Nation, and in par ticular to the Earl of Effingham *. On this oc- cafion Mr. Marfli puts in a very extraordinary claim of merit ori the part of the Ehglifli Go^ vernment, in not embracing fo favourable an opportunity of making themfelves matters of the capital of ,St. Domingo ; and this generous con duB (p. 57), " than which," according to Mr. Marfli, " no ftronger proof of friendfliip couli be given" (vol. II. p. 200), he afferts to have been requited with the blackeft ingratitude. To the circular letter written by the King of France, September 1791, to announce his acceptance of the new Conftitutiori, the Court of London replied early and Jn terms of refpeft and friendfliip ; while Sweden returned the let ter unopened, and Spain gave for anfwer that the a£t of acceptance could not be regarded as an a£i: of freewill. • -* M. Dumourier ftyles the King of England " the Monarch " in Europe the moft enraged againft the French Revolution,'' This may perhaps be true ; but in proportion to the King's perfonal diflike of the Revolution was his public merit in con forming fo far as he had hitherto done to the exi/lipg circum^ Jiances, -which very ftrongly enforced the policy of adling upott - the laudable fyftem of equity and moderation. In In November 1791, Sir Richard Strahan, Cap tain of the Phcenix, meeting with fome mer chantmen on the coaft of Malabar under convoy of a frigate, determined to examine their fea- Jetters and certificates, as he deemed himfelf warranted to do by the tenor of the Commercial Treaty. The French frigate refufing to permit this, an engagement enfued and the frigate ftruck, after fuftaining the lofs of her captain ?ind many of her riien. Of this " aft of hoftility," as Mr. Marfli ftyles it, the Court of London complained to the Court of France in terms of great moderation. But when the note of thei Ambaffador was read in the Afferiibly, far from offering fatisfaBion, they paffed to the order of the day — probably thinking that the Englifli Court was in poffeffion of fufficient fatisfaftion 9lready. The inference Mr. Marfli is pleafed to draw from this tranfaftion, and which thofe no doubt muji fee who are not wilfully blind, is, " that it fliows the Englifli Government" to have been defirous to maintain peace, and the French Governmerit totally indifferent about jt." (P. 65.) p/^'y te SECTION SECTION II. Containing Remarks on Chapters IV, V, VI, VIT. On the 31ft January 1792, the feflion of Par liament was opened by a Speech frora the Throne, penned in a truly pacific fpirit, and even re commending fome immediate redu6i:ions in the naval and military eftablifliments, which accord ingly took place. And Mr. Pitt was fanguine enough to afl5.rm the probability of fifteen peace ful years in uninterrupted fucceflion. Mr. Marfli fpeaks of the genuinenefs of the Treaty of Pavia as doubtful. It may however fafely be pro nounced fpurious, and therefore it is wholly fuperfluous to vindicate England from the charge of having either aSively or paflTively acceded to it. The difpofition of the Britifli Miniftry at this time was unqueftionably pacific ; while, on the contrary, according to Mr, Marfli (p. 78), the. inclination of the National Affembly was to in volve themfelves in a war by fea as well as by land. The fole proof of this extraordinary aflertion |s, that on the iSth March Theodore Lameth, in 9 in the name of the Committee of Naval Affairs, delivered a report to the Affembly, in which he faid " that about 80,000 failors would be necef- ** fary in order to man the veffels now at the *' difpofition of the ftate ; and which the ho- *' nour of the nation as well as the intereft of its " commerce does not permit us to reduce." The Committee further requefted the National Affembly to take the fpeedieft meafures for the organization of the Navy, It might naturally pe fuppofed, judging from the reprefentation of Mr. Marfli, that 80,000 failors were at this time aftually engaged in the fervice of France; where as M. Lameth meant merely to ftate, that com pletely to man the navy of France in cafe of a naval war would require that number ; and no addition whatever was in fa6t made to the naval force then on foot *. Indeed this would have been a ftrange time to have indulged their iw- clination for a naval war, with a land war in full profpeft, when, according to the report of M. de Moleville, the Marine Minifter quoted by Mr. Marfli himklf fome pages before, the French failors were almoft univerfally in a ftate of in- furredlion, and he even declared that he flipuld * Viz;, twrenty-one ihips of the line and twenty-eight fri gates. Viae Refobt. have fo fiave found it di^Kcult to induce ahy officer to accept tbe coramand of a fliip of war. * No Wonder then that M. Lameth fliouId re commend it in ftrOng terms to the Affembly, JO adopt meafures fpr the re-organization of the Navy. Oh the 2Qth April 1792, war was de clared by France againft Auftria; on vvhich great occafion, England ftill maintained its profeflions pf neutrality, with the fincerity of which the French Ambaffador, M. Chauveliuj appears tq have been perfe£tly fatisfied. " War," fays the Ambaffador, " is not agreeable to the tafte ofthe Nation; preparations are neither made in the f* ports or the arfenals. It is certain that the f fyftem of neutrality debated in council was *' adppted there," So ftrongly were the new Minifters of France, M, Roland and his col leagues, perfuaded of the favpurable difpofition of the EngHfli Natipn, and even of the Englifli Court, at this period, that the King of France was advifed by them to write (May ift) a, con-j fidential letter to the King of England, thank ing that Monarch " for all the marks of aflfec- ** tion he had given him, and efpecially for not " having become a party to the concert formed *' by certain powers againft France." The letter •|hen proceeds to touch upori topics of the moft ' ^ ^ important II Important and interefting nature, and refers toj the fecret inftru£l:io|!{s given to the Ambaffador. " Between our twjb countries," fays the French Monarch, " new cAnneftipns ought to take place. " I think I fee' the remains of that rivalfliip, ** which has done fo mueh mifchief to both, ** daily wearing away. It becomes two Kings *' who haVe diftinguiflied their reigns by a con- *' ftant defire to promote the happinefs of their " people, to conneft themfelves by fuch ties as " will appear to be durable in proportion as " the two nations fliall have clearer viewS of " their own interefts. I confider the. fuccefs pf *' the alliance, in which I wifli you to concur f with as much zeal as I do, as of the higheft: " importance. I confider it- as neceffary to the " flrability of the refpeftive coffftitutions, and " the internal tranquillity of our two kingdoms; f and I will add, that our union ought to coM- " MAND PEACE TO EUROPE." * Never was there a more glorious opportunity afforded of advancing to an height before un known, and of eftablifliing on a broad and folid bafis, the great and permanent interefts of man kind. Had the alliance fo earneftly fought by France been acceded to with equal fincerity and good will on the part of Great Britain, how in- ^ '• calculable calculable are the mifchiefs which might, and IP all human probability would, have beeri pre^ vented ; how immenfe the benefits which muft have accrued ! The idea is too painful to dwell upon, Thp fpecific anfwer to this truly noble and generous overture is not known.. It appears pnly frpm the event that it was rejefted, though probably in terms of refpeft and civility ; for, in the "courfe of the fame monthj the Englifli Court iffued, with the utmoft facility, a proela-^ mation, at the requifition of the Ambaffador Chauvelin, to enforce the amicable ftipulations of the treaty of 1786, prohibiting the fubjefts of England from taking out or accepting any commiflions from thp princes and ftates aftyally ^t war' with prance. ^ The famous proclamation againft feditious Wfitings appeared indeed nearly at the fame time; but this paper, \<^ether politic orimpoli* tic in itfelf, was drawn in terms which ought ijot, ajjd in fa£l did not give the leaft offence to the French Government. " If," fays M, Chauvelin, in his Note to Lord Grenville on this occafion, " certain individuals of this countryi " have eftabliflied a correfpondence abroad, *f tending to excite trpubles therein ; and if, as *« the Proclamation feems to infinuate, fome *' prencl^- IS ** Frerichmeri have entered into their views; *' this is a circumftance unconnefted with the " French Nation, the Legiflative body, the " King and his Miniftets. It is a proceeding of *' which they are entirely ignorant, which mi- " litates againft every principle of juftice, and " which, whenever it became known, would be •* univerfally condemned throughout France." *' Independently," continued the Ambaffador, ** of thofe principles of juftice, from which a " free people ought never to depart, if any one " is anxious to refleft candidly on the true in- ** terefts of the French Nation, is it not evident " that they muft be anxious for the internal " peace, and the ftability ahd duration of the " Conftitution ofa Country, which they already *' look upon as a natural Ally?" On the 15th June 1792 the Sefllion ended; when the King renewed the proteftations of his care to main tain the harmony and good underftanding which fubfifted between him and the feveral belligerent powers, and to preferve to his people the un interrupted bleflings of peace. 1. So convinced was the French Gpvernment of its fianding, upon the whole, well with the Court of London at this period, that the King of France, by the advice of his prefent virtuous- and 14. ' -¦ ¦ - - ' .•','* and patriotic Minifters, ordered M. Chauveliri to prefent, June i8th, a memorial to the Eng- iifli Minifter for, foreign affairs, requefting the mediation of the King of England betweeri France and the allied powers. " The confe- " quences," faid the Ambaffador, *' bf fuch a " confpiracy, formed by the concurrence of " powers who haye been fo long rivals^ will be " eafily felt by his Britannic Majefty ; the ba- " lance of Europe, the independence of the " dififerent powers, the general peace, every " confideration which at all times has fixed the " attention of the Englifli Government, is at " once expofed and threatened. The King of. " the French prefents thefe ferious and importr *' ant confiderations to the folicitude and the^ *' friendfliip of his Britannic Majefty. Strongly, " penetrated with the marks of intereft and af- " fe£tion which he has received from him, he " invites him to feek in his wifdom, in his fitu-. " ation, and in his influence, means compati- *' ble with the independence of the French Na- *' tion to ftop, while it is ftill time, the pro- *' grefs of the confederacy formed againft her^ « &c."After a lengthened and tedious interval of twenty days, that is, in the courtly language of Mr. .15 Mr. Marfli. (p. 119), " of mature deliberation,** the Ambaffador received the following cold and repulfive anfwer : " His Majefty thinks, that in " the exifting circumftances of the war now '' begun, the intervention of his counlels or of *' his good offices cannot be of ufe, unlefs they " ftiould be defired by all the parties inte- « refted." But, as a moft able writer and ftatefman remarks *, " When ALL the parties in a war " agree to defire the interpofition of a neutral " povver, no friendly offices are wanted to bring " them back to a pacific temper. Peace is al-^ " moft as good as made, when ALL the con- " tending parties are difpofed to defire it. The " obvious duty of a common friend, the true " policy of a generous, or even of a prudent, " Government, is to employ its good offices, and *' to exert its influence with thofe powers which " may be lefs Inclined to views of moderation, *' to encourage and promote a pacific difpofi- ** tion, to favour, that party which feems the *' readieft to liften to reafonable overtures, and " to make concefliions for the benefit of general ** accommodation. Such were the wife and * Philip Franci^ Efq. Vide Queftion ftated March 179S. " honour- 15 « boridurable duties of England, when his ^ia¦' " jefty's mediation was folicited and refufed." To this admirable defcriptiori of the funftions of a mediatorial power, nothing need be added. It is not to be imagined that in the exifting circumftances of the cafe, Auftria and Pruflia would have dared to refufe the good offices of Great Britain : but had thofe powers ftiewn themfelves wholly obftinate and refractory, Eng land had in recent inftances manifefted in what mode refpe£t to her mediation could be enforced. The confcioufnefs of our own ftrength fliould have infpired an opennefs and noblenefs of con- duft. The interefts of Great Britain were evi dently and clofely interwoven with thofe of the Continent, which feemed to look up to England as the arbitrefs of its fate. But the genius of Mr. Pitt did not rife to a level with the proud pre-eminence in which he, his King, and his Country, were at this critical moment placed *. Still * A magnanimous ftatefman, it has been remarked, of firft-rate talents, a Fox, a Mirabeau, or a Chatham, -would moft affuredly have acceded to the propofal of an alliance, and have given Law to Europe. A Minifter of more caution, but equal in fagacity, a WaWingham or a Walpole, v^ould perhaps have declined the aUiance, but would certainly have accepted . the 17 Still Mr, Pitt appeared to the generality of thofe perfons who difllked fome and defpifed other parts of his conduft, to be at leaft a pru dent Minifter, who would not lofe fight of the peace and fafety of the Country, if he did riot, like his greater Sire, afpire to the nobler praife of wifdom, generofity, and magnanimity ; but foon they perceived themfelves in a fatal etror. SECTION III. Containing Remarks on Chapters VIII, IX, X, XI, XIL On the depofition of the King of France, Auguft 10, 1792, orders were altnoft immedi- lately fent to Earl Gower, the Englifli Ambaffa dor at Paris, and who had difplayed much fe'rife and difcretion during his embaffy, to withdtav*/- from that city and return forthwith to England ; therein virtually taking a decided part in the interior concerns of France, cafting a ftigrfia Upon the conduft of the Katiorial Afferiibly, the mediation, A cold and artful Minifter, a Mazarine or a Sunderland, would have done neither, but, from a principle of felf-intereft merely, -#oitld have yielded! pafflvdy to thfe -^'arjflng jmpulfe of ejtifting circumflancea. c and 18 and diffolving the moft dire^ and important medium of communication with that country at a time when the political relations of the two nations became more than ever interefting and momentous. Whether the National Affembly were or were not juftifiable in the meafure of depofition, the Englifli Government could poffefs no right of jurifdiftion over them ; and the political necef- fity of maintaining an intercoUrfe of amity and good offices was at leaft as urgent as before. Louis XVI. was unqueftionably a traitor to the conftitution which he had fworn to defend. ' This is harfli language, but it is truth*; and France probably was to be faved only by pro ceeding to this extremity. All beyond feems the refult of democratic vengeance, and not of juftice or even of policy. But what political merit had Louis XVI. in relation to England, that the Englifli Government ftiould intereft itfelf in the perpetuation of his power ? Mr. Marfli frequently refers us to the " perfidy" of the French Government previous to the Revolution, and in particular, (p. 53) to the part which France * Vide Hiftoricai Differtation on the Charafter and Conduft of Louis XYI. a£lf>d 10 afted in relation to America. But was this the perfidy of the National Affembly or of Louis XVI, ? And in fpeaking of the requeft of France, to mediate between her and the Germanic Powers, Mr, Marfli exclaims (p. 121), " For whom was " England to take thefe effeftual and decifive " meafures ? For a nation which has never ceaf- " ed to be our mortal enemy ; for a nation which ** never faw the Britifli Government in diftr^fs " without taking ungenerous advantage of it ; *' and at the beginning of the very laft war, " which was concluded hardly ten years before " the period in queftion, had proved itfelf as *' treacherous as hoftile." But if all this be true, why incur any political rifques in oppofing the downfal of a Government which had fliewn itfelf thus uniformly treacherous and hoftile ? Surely the new order of things could not be worfe in this refpe£l than the old. Since the aera of the Revolution, the National Aflfembly had taken every opportunity of courting the favour and friendfliip of the Britifli Nation : and during the quarrel between England and Spain refpefting the Nootka Settlement, they indicat ed an infuperable ,relu£lance to engage in hofti- lities againft us. Of whatever private virtues the 20 the King might be poffeffed, he inherited with the Crown of the Bourbons all the political vices at leaft of his anceftors: and Mr. Sheridan was perfectly juftified in declaring, " that the Miniftei? " deferved to be impeached who fliould enter ^' into a war for the purpofe of re-eftablifliing " the former defpotifm of the Houfe of Bour* " bon in France ; or ftiould dare, in fuch a caufe, " to fpend one guinea or to flied one drop of " blood." And, by parity of reafop, that Mi nifter would merit, if not impeachment, fevera cenfure at leaft, who fliould fubje£t this country to the fmalleft political inconvenience for the fake of fliowing refpeft or doing honour to the memory of that deteftable and detefted houfe, But the recal of the Ambaffador was necef- farily produQive of the higheft political ipcon-. venience. It was an unprovoked and flagrant infult to the French Nation, and it was by all perfons of political difcernraent in both coun tries regarded as ominous of future animofity, contention, and war; occ^fioning as it did ^ mighty ftiock to the feelings of that high-fpirited and gallant people, whp carry to a pitch which borders even upon the romantic, their ideas of the point of honour. " The fufpenfion of the "> Kirig of the French," fays M. Briflbt in his famous 21 famous Report of the i ath January 179J, "on " a fudden changed the apparent difpofition of *' the Englifli Court. On the 17th Auguft flie " recalled her Ambaffad6r, under the futile pre- " text that his letters of credence were addrefl^- " ed only to the Monarch, as if new letters of " credence could not have l^een expedited. The " Minifter Dundas added, that this recal was " perfeftly conformable to the principles of " neutrality adopted by the Englifli Court, and " her firm refolution not to interfere in the *' internal government of France. Neverthelefs " the Ambaffador was recalled 'upon the ground " of the revolution of the loth Auguft, Was " not this an interference in the interior con- " cerns of France, fince it involved in it a pub- " lie difapprobation bf its operations ? If the " Cabinet of England had entertained a juft " refpeEt for the independence of the Gallic " Nation, an Ambaffador would at leaft have " been fent at the opening of the Convention. " For when all the departments had named " Deputies to this .Convention, it was evident " that a formal fanftion was given to the pre- " ceding meafures of the National Afl!embly, " and confequently to the fufpSnfion of the " King. Did the Cabinet of St. James's found ** its refufal upon the abolition of royalty pro- " nounced 22 « nounced by this Convention at the com- « mencement of its fittings? We anfwer, that " the Convention was invefted with unlimited " powers; and that it had a right to abolifli " royalty, and to fubftitute a republican go- " vernment in its place. The Cabinet of St. " James's could not refufe to correfpond with " the newExecutive Power eftabliflied inFrance, *' without violating the principle which flie had " herfelf proclaimed refpe£ting -the independ- " ence of nations ; without declaring their de- " termination to interfere with the internal " concerns of France. Difdaining neverthelefs *' thefe frivolous diplomatic chicaneries, and *' conceiving that the repofe of nations ought " not to be facrificed to the miferable difputes " of etiquette ; hoping all things from time, *' reafon, and viftory ; the French Republic or- " dered her Ambaffador in London ftill to exer- " cife his funftions." Thus, while the Court of London plumed itfelf upon its moderation in permitting M. Chauvelin to prolong his refidence in England, the French Government, loth to break with the Englifh Nation, yet indignant at the treatment of the Englifli Court, claimed with at leaft equal reafon. J23 ineafon equal merit, from her filence and fufFer* ance under this unmerited affront. In the inftruftions tranfmitted to Lord Gower' upon this occafion, it muft be remarked, that his lordfliip was direfled to take efpecial care, in all the converfations which he might have occafion to hold before his departure, not to negle£l any opportunity of declaring that, " at " the fame time, his Majefty means to obferve " the principles of neutrality in every thing " which regards the arrangement of the inter- "' nal government of France." On reading this inftruftion, who can avoid exclaiming, Why then depart at all ? If it were the real inten tion of the Britifli Court to maintain its neu trality, why„adopt a meafure fo invidious, and which muft neceffarily put that neutrality fo much to the hazard ? It feems evident, that the party fo long and fo well known by the ap pellation of " the King's friends" — from the conimencement of the revolution inveterately hoftile to it, as to every fpecies of liberty under every form — were now gaining once again an afcendency in the Cabinet ; and the recal of Lord Gower, with the declaration annexed, was the refult of a political compromife, as fatal as it was weak and difgraceful. The The French Executive Government upon thelf part, on this trying occafion, condufiled itfelf with the utmoft temper and wifdom. " The '^ Council," fays M. Le Brun in his reply to the official notification of Lord Gower, " hath " feen with regret the determination of the " Britlfh Cabinet to recal its Ambaffador, whofe. "' prefence attefted the favourable difpofitions " of a free ^nd generous nation ; and who had "' never been the organ of any other than ami- " cable words and fentiments of benevolence. " If any thing can diminifh this regret, it is the " renewal ofthe affurance of the neutrality given " by England to the French Nation. This af- *'- furanee appears to be the refult of the inten- '^ tion 'wifely refle£ted upon and formally ex- "' preffed by his Britannic Majefty, not to in- "* terfere in the interior arrangement of the " affairs of JFrance. Such a declaration cannot " be furprifmg on the part of a people enlight- " ened and fpirited, who firft of all nations re- " cognized and eftabliflied the principle of the *' National Sovereignty : who fubftituting the " Empire of the Law — the expreffion of the " will of all^ — to the arbitrary caprices of indi- " vidual wills, was the firft to give the example " of fubjefting Kings themfelves to that falu- " tary yoke: who, in fine, hath not deemed " herfelf 25 " herfelf to have purchafed too dear, by long " convulfions and violent tempefts, that liberty " to which fhe owes her glory and profperity. *' This principle, ofthe inalienable fovereigrity " of the people, is now going to manjfeft itfelf *' in a ftrong manner in the National Conven* " tion, of which the Legiflative Body has agreed " the convocation, and which will fix, without " doubt, all parties and all interefts. The French " Nation has ground to hope that the Britifh " Cabinet will not depart, in this decifive mo- ** ment, from the juftice, the moderation, and *• the impartiality, which have hitherto charac- " terized her -proceedings," But notwithftanding the hollow neutrality of words, contradifted by her own public a£li on the part of the Englifh Court, and the noble and magnanimous acceptance of that fallacious neutrality on the part of the Executive Council, the prevailing opinion in France from this time was, that England would ultimately join the coalition, and thofe who were really moft ad verfe to the idea of a rupture with that Power thought it neceffary to prepare the public mind for what they conceived to be fo probable an event. This a6 This fhey endeavoured to do in diverfe ways i Firji, By depreciating the power of England, and reprefenting that, in confequence of her* immenfe debt, fhe would not be able to exert her native force with the fame effe£l flie had heretofore done. Nay, that a war would foori bring on a crifis in her finances, and that a na-* tional bankruptcy muft inevitably enfue. Se condly^ By magnifying the difcontent and dil^- afFefl ion which were knovvn to exift in a certain' degree in that kingdom j and by plain intima tions, and even affertions, that, in cafe of a war, it would be eafy to excite a formidable in- furre£tion in England, which would probably terminate in the fubverfion of kingly Govern-* raent. tfoW far M. Briffot, and other popular ordtofs in the Convention who ufed this language, cre-» dited thefe extravagancies themfelves, does not qjearly. appear ; but the governing party had at all events an obvious intereft in making others - believe them. Truth however requires the ac knowledgment, that there exifts no evidence of their entertaining any agents in England with a view to excite public difturbances. They were probably deceived in a certain degree them felves ; they raeant, from motives which appeared in 27 ih their view highly patriotic, to go certain lengths in order to deceive others; and this, though by no means amounting to a juftifica- tipn of their policy, feems the moft fatisfaftory key to their conduft. But it is not eafy in adopting a fubtile atid re fined fyftem to draw the line accurately and pre- cifely. Briffot and his colleagues fo frequently afferted " that it was the intereft of France to " engage in a general war;" " that the reyolu- " tion could be completed and perfe£led only "*' by fuch a war;" " that the governed muft be " incited againft the governors ;" and " that *' France for her own fafety muft fet fire to the " four corners of the World," &c. &c.; that many were ferioufly of opinion that this ought to be efFe£ted, and the fpirit of Jacobinifm foon began, even under the Briffotine adminiftration, which it fhortly afterwards fuperfeded and over turned, to appear very formidable. Many vio lently patriotic members of the Convention afpired to the glory of revolutionizing England, and from the combined influence of the caufes fo repeatedly ftated to them, they thought little of the danger attending it ; and there were thofe who hefitated not to affirm, that England was no 28 m riioi^e to be dreaded than the Republic of Ragula. th this dangerous and highly fermented ftate pf the public mind, the Patriotic Societies in England began the pra£lice of prefenting at the bar of the Convention addreffes of congratula tion, filled with holds infolent, and feditious ex- preffions, to which anfwers were returned in a congenial fpirit full of refpeft and complacency* After the decifive vi£tory of Gemappe; and the concomitant fucceffes of the French Armies in * Germany and Italy, the licentious enthufiafm of that democratic and anarchic body knew no bounds; and the famous decree ofthe 19th No vember 1792, granting fraternity and promifing affiftance to all thofe people- who wifhed for Liberty, palTed by acclamation. On the 28th of the fame month, the prefident of the Con vention, M. Gregoire, in reply to a feditious addrefs from England, went the violent and ex* treme length of declaring, " that the moment "¦ without doubt approached in which the French " would bring congratulations to the National '' Convention of Great Britain." No fooner had this intelligence reached Eng land 29 land than a refolution vyas taken, in the ftead of reinftating Lord Gower as Ambaffador, and authorizing himto remonftrate with energy againft thefe extravagancies, which moft affuredly would never have been committed had he remained ia his proper ftation, immediately to convoke the Parliament and to ftate to the-m in the firft in- ftance, inftead pf the French Goyernment, all the caufes of grievance. The Parliament ac* cordingly met December 13th in a moft unufual time and manner, and every artifice was put ia praflice by the Minifters, and but too fuccefs- liilly, to excite a national alarm. Parliament fummoned, no one c;ould tell why-^'the Militia called out to fight, no one could tell whom — a plot againft the Government, no one could tell what — an explofion hourly expefted, no one could tell where — the Stocks falling, the Tower fortifying, meetings here, addreffes there, found and fury in the debates of the two Houfes, Mr. Fox's counfels contemned, and Mr. Burke deemed an Oracle of Wifdom *. The * Thofe perfpns who are curious to know the authentic par ticulars of this incomprehenfible plot, muft apply to very high authority indeed. " The King of England," fays Mr. Marfli (p. 224), quoting from the namelefs author of a namelefe tradt, " knew the leaders-, the agents, the focieties, the corre- " ipondencies, 30 The Speech from the Throne contained a formal denunciation of the French, whofe con- dud had indeed by this time aflforded juft and weighty grounds of complaint. The Decree of November; the opening of the Scheld; the an nexation of Savoy, in oppofition to the pretend ed renunciation of conqueft ; the reception given to the Englifti addreffes by the Convention ; were all legitimate fubjefts of reclamation and re- monftrance. But neither reclarhation nor re- monftrance was made to the Government of France. As a mpafure of national fecurity and " fpondencies, the emiflkries, the periods of their meeting, " their journies, and their refolutions. He knew that the'plan. *' was laid to feize the Tower, to plunder the arfenal, to break " open the prifons, to pillage the public buildings and the houfes " of the rich, and to cut off at one flroke the feveral branches '* of the Conftitution. His Majefty knew that the execution >' ofthe plan was fixed for Saturday the ift, or Monday the 3d, " of December. He knew where 20,ooolbs. of iron lay in fuch " a ftate of readinefs, that in the fpace of fijf-and-'thirty hours " the whole could be forged into pikes. He knew what emif- " fary, after remaining four-and-twenty hours in London, ftt " off for the Hague, with orders to revolutionize Holland. " His Majefty knew which of the emiffaries warned his agents " to take care, as the firft attempt had failed, how they engaged " in A fecond. He knew the number and names of the French, " Cannoniers," &c. &c. If his Majefty knew all thefe things, he has certainly fliewn himfelf not inferior to his illiiftrious pre- deceffor King William in the art of keying a Secret. prevention. 31 prevention, an augmentation of the naval and military force of the Kingdom was voted. The Alien Bill, the Bill for preventing the Circula tion of Affignats, for prohibiting the exportatioa of Arms and military Stores to France, of Grain, and even of foreign Corn, through the medium of England, in direft and acknowledged defi ance of the Commercial Treaty, were paffed, being carried through their feveral ftages by great and decifive majorities in both Houfes. Thefe meafures were not of a nature to pals unnoticed in the National Convention of France, On the 15th December, the principles of Jaco binifm ftill rapidly gaining ground in that Af feriibly, a Decree paffed, that in thofe Countries which are, or JhaU be, occupied by the Armies of the French Republic, the Generals fhall im- mediately proclaim, in the name of the French Nation, the Sovereignty of the People and the abolition of all conftituted authorities. Sec. In the words or Jhall be, a ftrong and facile imagi nation like that of Mr. Marfli might fuppofe an oblique threat to England included (p. 317). The truth is, that the French univerfally con ceived the confederacy, or, as they rather chofe to ftyle it, the cpnfpiracy, formed againft them to be in the higheft degree bafe and unjuft. They They regarded it, not without fome colour' of reafon, as a war refolved upon for the exprefs purpofe of fubverting the infant liberty of France, ^nd of reftoring amongft them the reign of def potifm. The majority, therefore, thought they were fully juftified in defending themfelves as they could, and in repelling fo unprovoked an Bggreffion, by attacking their enemies iri the part wherein they were the moft vulrierable. Asit was a war againft liberty on the part of the combined defpots, fo on the part of France it was confidered as a war againft defpotifrii, which was to be conduced upon principles totally dif.. ferent from thofe which had been knoWn ot afted upon in any former vvar ; and if Englafid joined the coalition of defpots,- they meant no doubt to clafs her as fhe claflTed herfelf. When M. Baraillon, a moderate member of the Convention, therefore propofed, as Mr. Marfh ftates (p. 340), to reftrift the meaning of the Decree of the 19th November to the Coun tries with which France was a£lually at war, becaufe it had excited uneafiftefs in the Britifh Government, the previous queftion was imme diately demanded upon it, and the propofition negatived without a debate, as infidioufly de- figned. i ¦ The th& eOri^aa pf the Ej^ecutive Government was however far more teraperate. than that of the LSgiflatJvef ; and, irideed, highly laudablcj confi- dctfirig theil' cireuftlftances, and the abfolute rie- ceffity the Meflibei'§ of the GduAcil wefe Urider of cOftfbi'ftiing iri a certain degree tdi the hu- HlOUfS' arid caprices of a dJforderly deriioCratic Affenftbly. M. Le Bruft, Miriifter for Foreign Affairs, in his report to the Conventiofl of the i^th Decerii ber, declared that there -vvas nothing in the Englifli Armameftts which oUght to excite alarm, fince they exceeded by four fhips ofthe line only the number which had been commif* fioned in the preceding year. And fortie days aftet, whett thirteen niore fhips of the line vve'te put into coiririiifliori, he ftill affirmed that the force voted by the Englifh Parliament was not formidable, ne font pas encore trop effrayans ; confidering, as he added, the difficulty of com- pJefirig the creWs of thefe VeflTels for want of ifiatiriets. He affirflied, " that the Council had *' given exprefs orders to the Minifter, Chauve- " Iin, to embrace every opportunity of affuring " the Englifli Nation, that notwithftanding the ** ill-humour of its Government, the French *• people defired nothing nfofe ardently than td P " merit 34 " merit its efteem. Alfo, that in cafe the arfiffa- *' ment, to which he had alluded, fhould be- " continued, M. Chauvelin had inftruftions to "declare that a folemn appeal would be made. " to the Englifli Nation." " An appeal," as- M. Briffot afterwards profeflfed to explain at, > " to the reafon and juftice of a great Nation,. " duped by the tricks charlatanifme of its Mi- " nifters, and he expreffed his furprife that the " Englifli Court fhould aflFeft to regard it as an ". incitement to irifurreftion*." -* Thofe who are converfant in Englifti Hiftory, will recolleft • the " Appeal" made by Count Palm, the Imperial Ambaffa:dor,'^ A. D. 1726, by order of his Court, to the Englifh Nation, for which he was juftly commanded to depart the realm, as for an egregious violation of propriety and decorum ; though the Court of London did not profefs to regard it as " an incitement to " infurreftion.'' But on farther refleftion, the governing Powers of Francte wifely abftained from carrying this very obnoxious and reprehenfible meafure into execution. It is alfo remarkable,' that in the celebrated negotiation between the Courts of Vienna and London, in the year 1735, Count Zinzendorf, the Imperial PiiiTie Minifter, in conference with Mr. Robinfon the Englifli Rtfident, made ufe of the very fame phrafe, which gave flich great and juft offence ih the -mouth of M. Briffot, viz. " That, " in his opinion, the Emperor ought to fet fire to the four " corners of the World ; and, if he muft perifli, to perifli in " the flames." But every day's experience, confirms the obfer- vation of Shakspeare — " That in the Captain 's but a. choleric word, " Which in the Soldier is flat blafphemy," SECTION oo SECTION IV. Containing Remarks on Chapters XIII and XIV. After an interval of no lefs than fourteen days from tbe meeting of Parliament, M. Chau velin was at length ordered to break filence ; and on the 27th December he prefented a Note or Memorial to Lord Grenville, Minifter for Foreign Affairs, which offered certainly a very fair opening for an amicable termination of the fatal mifunderftanding which had now taken place between Great Britain and France. M. Chauvelin begins by declaring, " That the " French Government thought they gave, an ** Unequivocal' proof of the defire they had to. ," maintain a good underftanding with the Bri- " tifh Court, by leaving in London a Minifter ", Plenipotentiary after the recal of Lord Gower " from Paris ; and their difpofifions having ever " remained the fame, they cannot fee with in- ¦*• difference the public Conduct which the Britifh " Miniftry obferve at prefent towards France. " The Executive Council think it a duty which " they owe to the French Nation, not to leave ,:. " it S6 " it lono-er in that ftate of uncertainty into which " it has been thrown by the feveral meafures " lately adopted by the BxitiCla. Government, an « uncertainty in which the Britifli Nation muft " fliare, and which muft be equally unworthy •' of both. They have therefore authorized him " to demand with opennefs, whether France " ought to confider England as a neutral or a « hoftile power; at the farae time giving the " moft pofitive affurances on the part of the " French Government of its defire to remain « in peace with it."—" Refiefling," the Am baffador proceeds to fay, " on the reafons which. " might' determine His Britannic Majefty to " break with the French Republic, the Exe- " cutive Council can fee them only in a falfe " interpretation given perhaps to a Decree af " the National Convention ofthe I9,th Novem- " ber. If the Britifh Miniftry are really alarm- " ed at that decree, it can only be for want " of comprehending the true raeaning of it. " The National Convention never intended thaf " the French Republic fhould favour infurrec- " tions and efpoufe the caufe of a few feditious " perfons, or, in a word, that it fliould endea- *' vour to_, excite difturbance in any neutral or " friendly country whatever. Such an idea " would be rejefted by the French Nation, " It S7 " It cannot without injuftice be Imputed to the " National Convention. This Decree, then, is " applicable only to thofe people who, after " having conquered their liberty, may requeft ** the fratemity and affiftance of the French *' Republic, by a folemn and unequivocal ex- " preffion bf the general will. " France not only ought and wifhes to refpefil *• the independence of England, but that alfo *' of its allies with whom it is not at war. " The under-figned therefore has been charged " to declare formally, that France will not at- *' tack Holland while that power confines itfelf, " on its part, within the bounds of ftrift neu- *' trality. " The Britifh Government being thus affured " refpefting the two points, no pretence for " the leaft difficulty can remain, but on the *' queftion of opening the Scheld ; a queftion " irrevocably decided by reafon and juftice, of *' little importance in itfelf, and on which the " opinion of England, and perhaps even of .*' Holland, ai'e too well known not to render *' it difficult to make it ferioufly the fole caufe *' of a war. Should the Britifli Miniftry how- ** ever embrace this laft motive to induce them « to 38 " to declare war againft France, would it not *' then be probable that their private intention " , was to bring about, a rupture at any rate, " and to take the advantage at prefent of the *' moft futile of all pretences to colour, an unjuft *' aggreffion, long ago meditated ? " On this fatal fuppofition, which the Exe-s *' cutive Council rejefts, the linder-figned woUld" *' be authorized to fupport with energy the *' dignity of the French People, and to declare " with firmnefs, that a free and, powerful Na- " tion will accept war, and repel :with indig- " nation an aggreffion fo manifeftly urijuft and " fo unprovoked on their part. When. all thefe " explanations, neceffary to deraonftrate the " purity of the intentions of France, and when ^' all peaceful and conciliatory meafures fliall f' have been exhaufted by the French Nation, " it is evident that the whole weight, and the " whole refponfibility of the war will fooner or ?' later fall upon thofe who have provdked it. " Such a war would really be the war ofthe ^' Britifh Miniftry only againft the French Re- f public; and fhould this truth appear for a " moraent doubtful, it would not perhaps be " impoffible for France to render it foon evident f ? to a Nation which, in giving its confidence. 39 " never renounced the exercife of reafon, and " its refpe£t for juftice and truth." Notwithftanding the rudenefs of M. Chauve- lin's language in relation to Minifters, this Me morial certainly contained great conceflions, "efpecially if we confider them as made volunta rily at the comraencement of a negotiation, and when the progrefs of their arms had received no check. The oflFenfive meaning of the Decree of the '19th November is formally and exprefsly difavowed. The queftion with a great ftatef man, if fuch an one had fortunately for Britain ¦prefided over her councils at this period, would doubtlefs have been, not whether the explana tion offered by M. Chauvelin was a juft inter pretation according to the ordinary rules of grammatical conftru£lion, but whether the pub- lie arid unequivocal difavowal of its fuppofed meaning did not indicate a real reluflance on ¦the part of France to come to a rupture with ¦England ; whether fhe did not ftill wifh to re- inftate matters on the footing of friendlhip, or, if that were impra£licable, at leaft of civility and neutraUty. If France really wiflied to break with England, it is the groffeft of folecifms to believe that fhe would have degraded herfelf— for in the light of a degradation it muft.in that cafe eafe have ^ppegred to her— -by fuch a difavciw»l. This pacific difpofijiori is farther evidenced by her pofitive and voluntary declaration that fhe will npt attack HoUapd, if that power does not violate its neutrality. Laftly, by profefling to treat the opening of the Scheld as a trivial queftion, the Memorial furniflies a ready falvoi for the French honour if the French Govern merit fljould, in the prpgr#f§ of this negotiation, confent to abandon it. The uneourfeous and- uncuftomary language refpefting Minifters is indeed reprehenfible, aod the oblique threat of appealing to the Englifh, Nation againft the part adppted by ftg Govern-^ ment, or thpfe entrufted to adrainifter it, is equally impolitic and indefenfible. Th# Englifli Miniftry were ^t this time, in confequence of their own previous indifcrf tion, involved, as it muft be confeffedj in a fitiiation pf great poli tical difiicvilty ; and the negotiation now entered upon was at once one of the nioft impprtant an4 delicate that could be conceived. And nevff was tlier© fl minifter left qualified than Lord Grenville to conduft and bring to a fuccefeful termination a bufinefs of fueh ^mbarraflre&ent and complexity; and which wpuld have afforded full fcppe to the bigbeft ejffrtipn pf diplpmatie talents 41 falentfr— to the addrefs, the urbanity, the fupe- rior wifdom of a Temple, a De Witt, or a Bo lingbroke. On the 31ft December the Englifli Secretary of State returned the following an fwer : ** Sia, I have received from you a Note,' in ** which, Jiyling yourfelf Minifter Plenipotcn- " tiary of France, you communicate to me, as " the King's Secretary of State, the inftru6tions f* which you ftate to have yourfelf received frpm '' the Executive Council of the French Repub- *' lie. You are not ignorant that, fince the " unhappy events ofthe loth Auguft, the King '• has thought proper to fufpend all official cotn- '^ munication with France. You are yourfelf *? no ptherwife accredited to the King than in " the name of his Moft Chriftian Majefty. The " propofition of receiving a minifter accredited ^' by any other authority or power in France " would be a npw queftion, which, whenever it ** fhould occur, the King would have a right " to decide according to the interefts of his " fubjefls, his own dignity, and the regard " which he owes to his allies and to the ge- '* neral fyftem of Europe. I am therefore to ** inform you. Sir, ^n exprefs and formal terms, *' that I acknowledge you in no other public " chara£ler re & cc 42 ** chara£ter than that, of Minifter from his Moft '* Chriftian Majefty, and that confequently you " cannot be admitted to treat with the King's s* Minifters in the quality and under the form " ftated in your note. *' But obferving that you have entered into *' explanations of fome of the circumftances *' which have given to England fuch ftrong grounds of uneafinefs and jealoufy, and that you fpeak of thefe explanations as being of " a nature to bring our two countries nearer, I " have been unwilling to convey to you the *' notification ftated above, without at the fame " time explaining myfelf clearly arid diftin£tly " on the fubje£l: of what you have communi- " cated to nte, though under a form which is " nei^ther regular nor official, " Your explanations are confined to three '' points. The firft is, that of the Decree of " the National Convention ot the igthNovem- " ber ; in the expreflions of which all England *' faw the formal declaration of a defign to ex- " tend univerfally the new principles of govern-- 'f ment adopted in France, and to encourage " diforder and revolt in ,all countries, even in' 'f thofe which are neutral. If this interpre-" tation, 43 « tation, which you reprefent as injurious to the *' Convention, could admit of any doubt, it is " but too well juftified by the conduft of the " Convention itfelf; and the application of ^' thefe principles to the King's dominions has " been fhewn unequivocally by the public re- ¦*' ception given to the promoters of fedition in ** this country, and by the fpeeches made to " them precifely at the time of this Decree, and f fince, on feveral different occafiong. " Yet notwithftanding all thefe proofs, fup- " ported by other circumftances which are too " notorious, it wpuld have been with pleafure f' that we fhould have feen here fuch explana "tions and fuch a conduft as would have fa- " tisfied the dignity and honour of England f' with refpe£l to what has already paffed, and f would have offered a fufficient fecurity in " future for the maintainance of that refpefl: " towards the rights, the goyernment, and the " tranquillity of neutral powers, which- they ^' have on every account the right to expect. " Neither this fatisfaction nor this fecurity is f found in the terms of an explanation, which -" ftill declares to the promoters of fedition in ff every ^ country what are the cafes in which " they 44 ?' they may count beforehand on the fupport *' and fuccour of France, and which referves " to that country the right of mixing herfelf *' in our internal affairs, whenever fhe fliall *' judge it proper, and on principles incompar ** tible with the political inftitutions of all the *' countries of Europe, No one can avoid per^, " ceiving how much a declaratioh like this is " calculated to encourage diforder and revolt in " every country. No one can be ignorant how " contrary it is to the refpe£t which is recipro- " cally due from independent nations, nor bow ** repugnant to thdfe principles which the King " has foUowed on his part, by forbearing at all " times from any interference whatever in the " internal affairs pf France. And this contraft " is alone fufficient to fhew, not only that Eng- " land cannot confider fuch an explanation as " fatisfa£tory, but that fhe muft look upon it " as a frefh avowal of thofe difpofitions which " fhe fees wifh fo juft an uneafinefs and jea- " loufy.•' I proceed to the two other points of your " explanation, which concern the general dili " pofitions of France with regard to the allies ** of Great Britain, 'and the conduft of the Cori- " vention and its officers relative to the Scheld, " The *^ The declaration which you there niake, that " France will not attack Holland fo long as that " power slhall obferve an exa£l neutrality, is " conceived nearly in the fame terms with that " which you were charged to make in the name " of his Moft Chriftian Majefty in the raonth of " June lafL Since that firft declaration was " made, an officer, ftating himfelf to be em- " ployed in the fervice of France, has openly " violated both the territory and the neutrality " of the Republic,, in going up the Scheld to " attack the citadel of Antwerp, notwithftand- " ing the determination of the Government not " to grant this paffage, and the formal proteft " by which they oppofed it. Since the fame " declaration was made, the Convention has " thought itfelf authorifed to annul the rlghts- *' of the Republic esercifed within the limits " of its own territory jr and enjoyed by virtue of " the fame treaties by which her independence " is fecured : and at the very raoment vyhen, " under the name of an amicable explanation, " you renew to me in the fame terms the pro- *' mife of refpe£ling the independence and the " rights of England and her allies, you announce *' to me that thofe in whofe name you fpeak " intend to maintain thefe open and injurious " aggrefEons. It is certainly not on fuch a de- " claration 4^ ** claration as this that any reliance can be placed " for the continuance of public tranquillity. " But I am unwilling to leave, without a " more particular reply, what you fay on the " fubje£l of the Scheld. If it were true that " this queftion is in itfelf of little importance, " this would ferve only to prove mOfe cleariy " that it was brought forward only for the pur- " pofe of infulting the allies of England by the " infraftion of their neutrality, and by the vio-* " lation of their rights, which the faith of trea- " ties obliges us to maintain. But you cannot " be ignorant that here the utmoft irapprtance " is attached to thofe principles which France " wiflies to eftablifh by this proceeding, and to '" thofe confequences which would naturally " refult frora thera ; and that not only thofe " principles and thofe confequences will never " be admitted by England, but that fhe is and " ever will be ready to oppofe thera with all her " force. " France can have no right to annul the fti- " pulations relative to the Scheld, unlefs fhe " have alfo-the right to fet afide equally all the " other treaties between all the powers of Eu- " rope, and all the other rights of England or « of 4^ ** of her allies. She can have even no pretericef " to interfere in the queftion of opening the " Scheld, unlefs fhe were the fovereign of the *' Low Countries, or had the right to di£tate *' laws to all Europe. " England -Will never confent that France " fhall arrogate the right of annulling at her *' pleafure, and under pretence of a pretended " natural right of which fhe makes herfelf the *' only judge, the political fyftem of Europe, " eftabliftied by folemn treaties and guaranteed " by the confent of all the Powers. This Gro- " vernment, adhering to the maxims which it *'• has followed for more than a century, will *' alfo never fee with indifference that France " fhall make' herfelf, either dire£tly or indireft- " ly, fovereign of the Low Countries, or gene- *' ral arbitrefs of the rights arid liberties of Eu- " rope. If France is really defirous of main- " taining friendfliip and peace with England, " fhe muft fhow herfelf difpofed to renounce " her views of aggreffion'' and aggrandizement, " and to confine herfelf within her own terri- " tory, without infulting other Governraents, *' without difturbing their tranquillity, without "violating their rights, ." With V With refpe£t to that charaStef of iiWilt *' which is endeavPutedto be found in the cori-' ^' da£t of England toward FranCe> I canflof *»' difcufs itj becaufe fou fpeak of it iil gendral " terras only, without alleging a firigle fa£f. " All Europe has feen the juftice and the gerie- " rofify which have charaBertzed the cd*dti£l " of the King. His Majefty has always b^ert •* defirous ©f peace/ be de&es if ftill ; but fuch " as may be rgal and folid, attd cOrififtent witlf " the jftterefts Snd dig'ri'ity of his own domi- " nians, and with the general fecurity of Eu* " rope,'' " On the reft of your paper I fay nothirt^. " As to what relates to me and to my col-- " leagues-i the King's Minifters o-we to hi** " Majefty the aeccnint of their condudl ; arid " I have no anfwer to give to you on this fub* *' jeft, any more than on that of the appeal *' which you propofe to make to the Englifh " Nation. This nation, according tO that con- *' flitutiofi by which its liberty and its pro- " fperity are fecnred, and which it Will always b^ " able to def^d againft every attack, dircQ: or' *' indifeft, wifl never have with foreign powers *' connection or correfpondence except through " the organ of its King ; of a King whora it " loves 49 ^ loves and reveres, and who has never for an *• inftant feparated his rights and his happinefs " from the rights and interefts of his people." Though it muft be acknowledged that the in terpretation of the decree of November, by the Executive Council, appears fomewhat flrained and forced, and that the comment^ contrary to the general cuftom of comraents, imports^ lefs than the text, it muft, on the other hand, be remembered, that this decree was an effufion of popular exultation and folly ; that it paffed by acclamation in a moment of enthufiafm and viftory; and thaf, with refpe£t to countries which maintained the relations of peace and amity with France, it never had or tvas defigned to have the remoteft operation. Lord Grenville uniformly aflfefts to confider the French as the original aggreffors in the conti nental war ; he makes not the leaft allowance for that perturbed ftate of the public mind which fo fmgular and perilous a fituation as that in which they lately ftood muft neceffarily have excited ; he puts the worft poflible cpn- ftruftion upon the decree ; he takes it for grant ed that England was included in the fcope of it ; and refufes to admit any explanation which £ might ^0 might tend to remove or reftify whatever Umv brage had been occafioned by it *. The impolitic conduft of England in refufing to recognize the provifional Government of France, fo far as to continue the accuftomed' diplomatic rela'tions fubfifting between the two countries, was regarded by the majority of the Convention as a renunciation of the principle of neutrality, and an aflual interfererice in the interior concerns of the French Nation; and * This famous Decree, in the original language, is literallff as follows : Seance du I^ndi, ig Novembre, 17 gs. Le'paux propofe et la Convention, adopte la redaftion fui- vante : " La Convention Nationals declare, au nom de " la Islatlon Fran^aife, qu'elle accordera fraternit6 et fecours k " tous les PEUPLES qui voudront recouvrer leur liberty j et '' charge le Pouvoir Ex6cutif de donner aux G6n6raiix les or- " dres ,n6ceflraires pour porter ftcoiirs ^ ces peuples, et defendre " les citoyens qui' auraient ete ,vexea ou qui pourraient I'^trc " pour la caufe de la Liberie." This Decree could not with any plaufibility of conftruftioiK be fuppofed to extend to England, which had repeatedly, and in the mofl: flattering terms, been recognifed both by the feveral af- femblies and the Executive Government as a free Nation, par-> ticularly in the excellent reply of Le Bmn to the letter of Lord Gower notifying his recal; the 51 the Enghfh Government was in confequence treated upon raany occafions, in that affem bly, with great rudenefs and indignity. This falfe ftep was therefore as foon as poflible tobe retrieved. M. Chauvelin ought to have been acknowledged as the accredited Minifter of the French Government, and an Ambaffador im mediately fent to Paris. This of itfelf would have given a new face to things, and have pro duced a great fenfation in the Convention in favour of England. But, on the contrary. Lord Grenvifle embraced with eagernefs the prefent occafion to tell M. Chauvelin, in the moft offen- five terms, " that he could not be admitted " to treat with the King's Minifters in the qua- " lity and under the form ftated in his note." Inftead of accepting, with magnanimous in difference to literary criticifras, the political ex planation and apology of M. Chauvelin relative to the decree of November, as was the part of a wife and liberal negotiator, avoiding all retro- fpe£l ahd looking fonward only to future arrange ments of araity. Lord Grenville chofe to avail hirafelf of the petty advantage he poffeffed, in pointing out the real or fuppofed inadequacy of the explanation to the terms of the decree ; putting moreover a moft harfli and unwarrant able 52 able interpretation ripon the explanation itfelf. He thought it expedient alfo to allude in the moft invidious manner, m this moment of diui- cable eclaircijfement, to the moft invidious pro ceedings of the Convention — proceedings which he knew the Executive Council could not con trol : and what is moft of all extraordinary, his Lordfliip declares that England muft confider the difavowal of the French Government as a frefh avowal of thofe difpofitions which fhe fees with fo juft an uneafinefs ,and jealoufy. The opening of the Scheld being a fecondary confideration. in tbe prefent ftate of things, it would have been far better to have paffed it over in general terms, referving the diplPrtiatic difcuifion of right on this topic to a feafon of more leifure arid better temper. Inftead of which. Lord Grenville urges his argument refpefting tliis matter at great length, and in language the moft irritating and infulting. And he fums up the deraands of England In a tone of" the moft *' infufferable arrogance" — " If France is really," fays.his Lordfliip, "defirous of maintaining friend- *' fhip and peace with England, fhe muft fhow " herfelf difpofed to renounce her views of ao-- " grefllion and aggrandifement, and to confine " herfelf within her own territory," &c. If 53 If this means anything, it muft import that France, iq order to maintain friendfhip, ov even to preferve peace with, England, muft relinquifh her conquefts in the Low Countries and elfe- where : a propofition too extravagant to be come the topic of ferious deliberation. The conclufion of this prepofterous letter, relative to the threatened appeal to the People o§ England, is the only part of it which can be read with approbation, and to this part it would be in juftice not tP allow the merit of propriety, and even of excellence. In the mean time the violent party in France, fplly poffeffed with the idea that a war with England muft inevitably take place, kept fcarcely any meafures in the Convention in debating upon that fubjeQ. ¦ Even Monge, Minifter of Marine, whp had drank deep into the fpirit of Jacobin ifm, on the 31ft December, the very day on vvhich Lord Grenville''s anfwer was delivered to M, Chauvelin, fent a circular letter to the fea- port towns of France, containing the following curious paffage : " Le Roi et fon Pariement " voulent nous faire la guerre. Les Republi- " cains Anglais le fouffiront-ils ? Deja ces hom- *' mes libres tenioignent leur mecontentement *' et la repugnance qu''ils ont k porter les armes • *, " contre 54 " contre leurs freres, les Frangois. Eh bien ! " nous volerons a leurs. fecours ; nous ferons une " defcente dans cette ifle :^ nous y lancerons " cinquante mille bonnets de la liberte. Nous " y planterons I'arbre facre, et nous tendrons *' les bras a nos freres republicains. La tyran- " nie de leiir gouvernement fera bientot detruit. " Que chacun de nous fe penetre fortement de " cette idee." On the firft of January, 1793, M. Kerfaint, a diftinguifhed officer of the Navy and a cele brated .Orator in the Convention, propofed a large augmentation of the Naval force; enforc- ing his propofition in a Speech much applauded in that Affembly. He faid, " it was impoflTible " for the Convention to reraain longer indifferent " as to what had lately paflfed in England ; and *' he attributed the decided part which the Go- ** vernriient of that Country had now taken " againft, them to various caufes, and principally ^* the hatred of the King of England againft the " French,, and the fear he entertained for the " fafety of his Crown, which he confiders as " the fole motive for the intereft he has mani- " fefted in the behalf of Louis XVI. The " great body of Nobility and Clergy he fuppofe^ " enter readily into the fentiments of the Mo. " narch. 55 *' narch. The Minifter Pitt he reprefents "¦as Wavering between oppofite principles of " aftion. By yielding to the defire of peace, ** he will be thought to .abandon the caufe of "Royalty and Ariftocracy : by involving the " nation in war can he be certain," he afks, " in " the courfe of events, of maintaining that pre- " ponderancy which his rival Fox contefts with "-him in the bofom of peace ? It is," he fays, *' an axiom in England, that the Minifter who* " declares war never remains in office till the " conclufion of it. Pitt fees in war the terrai- " nation of his authority. Pitt therefore would *' Willingly avoid war ; but the King is vehe- 'f niently determined upon it — Veut la guerre " par\paJJion. The policy of Pitt is to adopt " the language of hoftility, in Order, by the ap- *' prehenfion of a raaritime war, to corapel the " French; to come to terms with their enemies " by land upon thebafisof his mediation." The orator, indignant at this idea, then launches out into a moft. eloquent difplay of the inexhauftible refourcesand invincible courage of France, which ¦ time has indeed fully verified, but af which he fays " Mr. Pitt has no coriception." He goes on to fliew that iri cafe of a war with Jlngland they have in raany points of view much reafon 56: reafon to hope for fuccefs. He particularly ad verts to the fituation of Ireland, which he fays, " notwithftanding the late pretended emancipa- *' tion, ftiU groans under the weight of its fetters. " The Gatholics, who conftitute tbe bulk of the *' inhabitants, find themfelves ftill fubjefl to the *' ffothic and barbarous laws of the intol^ant *' ages which produced them ; and in this fitu- " ation of nominal independence they feenwd " to turn their eyes to France, and to fay, *' Come fhow yourfelves, and we are free." Scotland he reprefents, with lefs juftice, as al moft equally prepared to receive them. *' The *' Scottifh Nation," fays he, " knows its rights " and its ftrength, and the principles prorriul- ** gated by the French have found there very " zealous defenders. Ireland and Scotland," he fays, " will never confent to the payment of " new fubfidies for the fupport of a war, en- ** tered upon merely to prevent a people from " enjoying the ufe of a river which runs ithrough " their territory, and which opens to England *' itfelf a new and better commercial communi- " cation with the Belgians." To rh© g^and queftion, how are the people of EiAgland difpofed to tbg war in porof^edl, M. Kerfaint 57 I Kerfaint demurs. " Such," fays he, " is the power of the Government in England, that it can do every thing : the commef"cial arif tocracy are at thisday the auxiliaries of the Court, and fwell the clamour refpefiling our diforder, our anarchy, our weaknefs, ^d the difaftrous events of thofe days which: we wifti blotted from our hiftory. , In a word," conti nues he, " can it be forgotten that the Britifh Govemment made war- upon its Colonies againft the inclination of the Britifh Nation, and merely to gratify tbe perfonal paffipns of the King ? The inquifition of Spain knows ao tyranny more artificial than tbe Govern ment of Britain dares to put this moment ia praftice, and with impunity to mifle^d th^e opinion of the Nation." Upon a compari- fon of aU circuraftances, he pronounces it to be the intention of Pitt to prolong the negotiatiojn until he had thoroughly awakened the antient animofity of the people of England againft them, and till he had fecured by. his intrigues a Kn|)tirig advantage, vvhich the Jacobins were G eager 8S I eager to feize, for the fake of preferving amit/ with England, and the chance of reftoring peace to France. But they were equally determined with their antagonifts, that thefe provinces fhould never more revert to Auftria/ "When, at the end of January, at which time almoft every hope of reconciliation with England had vanlfhed, M. Danton formally propofed the incorporation of the Auftrian Netherlands, it was ftill waved ; but immediately after the declaration of war againft England it took place, ariiidft the loud and univerfal acclamations of the Convention. It was Dantan who firft pronounced the me morable words, " Les limites de la France font *' marquees par la nature. Nous les atteindrons *' dans leurs quatre points, a I'ocean, au Rhiri, " aux Alpes, aux Pyrenees." In his ftyle of terrific eloquence, fpeaking of the enemies of France, he faid, " Vous leur avez jette le gand; " ce gand eft la tete d'un Roi— -c'eft le fignal " de leur mort prochaine." The harlh, forcedj, and perverfe conftruftions which Mr. Marfh, throughout his two fatiguing volumes, abounding with declamation and re petition, puts upon all that was faid or done on the part of the Executive Council, riiuft be ap parent 83 parent to every judicious reader. It would be fuperfluous labour, and would lead to fruitlefs arid endlefs difcuflion, to enter into a minute examination of his innumerable fallacies and mifreprefentations. Much muft in every difpute be left to the judgment and underftanding of the reader. If the principal points at Iffue are placed in a juft arid clear light, it will be eafy to decide upon the merit of fubordinate confi derations. There is, however, one inference fo unjuft, and applied to a purpofe of fuch import ance, as to call for fpecific notice. The difpatch of M. Le Brun was dated Janu ary 7. The impreffion which it might make upon the Englifh Government was very doubt ful. However anxious the Council might be for peace, it was neceffary, therefore, to pre pare for war : and on the very fame day a Mi nute, or Refolution, was tranfmitted by them to the Municipality of St. Malo, which has never appeared, but of which the Confeil Ge neral of the Commune took the following no tice, in their anfwer to the circular letter of Monge, printed in the Journal de Paris, Janu ary 28, 1793 : " A I'inftant ou nous avons re9U ** votre lettre avec la dilibSmtion du Cotjeil *' Ex^^cutif, en date du 7 Janvier, nous nous " fommes 'S4 *' fommes empreffes de concert avec I'ordoit- " nateur civil, de lui donner la plus grande '" publicity par la voie de -4'impreffion, bien " certain que nos concitoyens feraient jaloux de " prouver leur patriotifme, en entrant dans les *' vues du Pouvoir Executif, et faifant leurs ef- *' forts pour co-operer de tous leur moyens a. " aneantir les tjrans, et les hordes d'efclaves ?' llgues centre notre liberte. Nous n'avons .*' point ete trompes dans notre attente, Citoyen *' Miniftre ; et deja nous vous annongons que " nos amateurs travaiUent avec grande a£i;ivit^, " a depofer les objets neceffaires a I'armement " de fix corfaires, dont trois montent 28 ca- *' nons en batteries, et trois autres plus petits. " Vous pouvez compter, qu'ils feront prets a f' I'inftant. ou la Convention Nationale ouvrira *' fur les mers un nouveau champ d'honriieur aux " Frangois regeijeres," "Upon this, Mr. Marfli obferves (p. 155), " that " it is evident the tendency of this paper was " the fame as that of the letter written by the " Marine Minifter, namelyj, to roufe Dhe-pecipte " to a war with England. The circumftance^ " therefore, that It was figned by the Execw- *' tive Council on the very fame day on which *.* the NotQ of the Executive Council to. the " Britifli 85 *' Britifli Government was figned, affords a new " and very ftriking proqf of that glaring dupli- *' city which charafterifes the rulers of modern " P'rance ;" and " that the date of the circular " letter of Monge fliews, that the refolution of " engaging in a war with England was forraed " by the Executive Council even before they *' knew the conditions under which the Britifh " Government was wiUing to preferve .peace " with France, and confequently that they were " deterrained upon a rupture at all events." Were the French then to raake no preparations for war, nor to offer any incitements to fhe na tional ardour in the full profpeft ofa war, mere ly becaufe they were engaged in a negotiation for peace ? Is it fair or juft to ftyle that hypo- crlfy in France which, in any other nation, would be regarded as the refult of prudence, or indeed rather of common fenfe ? Did England remit her hoftUe preparations during this interval? Did flie not, on the contrary, declare in pofitive terms that fhe would not difcon-tinue them ? When a man, however refpeifable, fuffers his prejudices to carry him to fuch'lengths of party zeal — fpr party malevolence is a phrafe of odi ous, found— it is neceffary to read with extreme caution whatever he may write, and to credit rather what -he flvaU prove than what he; fliall fay. Mr. 86 Mr. Marfh mentions (p. 158), as an additional proof, that " the Executive CouncU was refoly- " ed, at all events, on a war with England, and " that the negotiation which was then carrying " on had no other obje£t than to amufe its Go- " vernment, that General Dumouriez informed " General Miranda in a letter, dated Paris, Ja- " nuary 10, that the war between England and " France appeared to be decided. He faid in- " deed to Miranda, decided on the part of .Kng- " land, being too prudent to betray the fecrets " of the Executive CouncU." This forced and far-fetched proof refts upon the fubfequent af- fertion of Dumouriez in his MemPirs-. (tome I. p. 103), " that it would have been; extremely " eafy for France to have avoided a war with " England ;" confequently, the difpofition of England muft have been pacific ; confequently, France muft have been the power that decided for war ; confequently, France muft have been infincere when negotiating for peace. - But this is a mere wire-drawn conclufion of Mr. Marfh ; for Duraouriez never reprefents France as in fincere in her attempts to elfe£l an accommo dation —though he exprefsly charges Mr. Pitt with duplicity as to the negotiation in which he himfelf was concerned. " On pourrait croire « que le Miniftre Pitt," fays he, " n'auroit " voula 87 •' voulu qu'amuferle General Dumouriez." Had France uniformly a£led upon a fyftem of mode ration and difcretion, it would indeed havp been extremely eafy, as M. Dumouriez juftly affirms, to have avoided a war with England. But when the anger and refentment of England were car ried to fo ejf travagant a pitch that they could be appeafed only,' on the part of France, by relinquifhing all her conquefts, and refcinding all; her decrees, France could not avoid a war with England, without leaving herfelf complete ly at the mercy of her enemies. Alfo from a moft virulent, infolent, and frantic fpeech'^ uttered by the demagogue Carra, in the Convention, January 2, in which the Govern ment of England and even the perfon of the Monarch was fcandaloufly villified, Mr. Marfh infers (p. 181), " That the whole world might " perceive that it was not the obje£l of the Na- " tional Convention to produce a reconcUiation " with the Britifli Cabinet." As weU might it have been inferred from the furious inyeftlve of Mr. Burke in the Britifh ;jHoufe of Commons, February 1790, that the Britifh parliaraent had, at that period, determined upon a rupture with France. The 88 The famous fpeech of M. Briffot on prefent ing his report from the United Committees of Foreign Affairs, Marine, and General Defence, January 12, Mr. Marfli confiders as an additional evidence of his favourite, and often repeated affertion, " That the French were determined *< at all events to engage in a war with England." As M. Briffot was, at this period, in the zenith- of his popularity and influence, it will not be improper to tranfcribe a few of the moft re markable paffage s, of his fpeech on this great occafion, in order to aflift us in forming a judg-^ rn-ent of fhe real views and intentions of the go verning party in France. M. Briffot begins by declaring, " That, after •^ a profound difcuffion., it is the opinion of the 'f United Committee, FirJi., That the complaint's ^i of the Britifli Cabinet againft France have no " juft foundation*; Secondly,- That tbe Repqb- *' lie of France, on the contrary, has various -* That this was contrary to the real opinion of M; Briflbt qppeairs fropi his addrefs to his Conftituents, ,in which hpfpeajss of the Decree of the 19th November, ^nd the fubfequent pro? ceedings of the Convention, in terras, of fqvere reprobation. But fuch was the homage he was obliged to pay to the tyranni-, cal humours and capricious infolence of an Anarthic Af fembly, " well 83 ^ weU founded grounds of complaint againft the* " Court of St. James's ; Thirdly, That after all « means of conciliation have been tried, the ag- *' grelBons of England were to be yigoroufly re- « peUed."The orator remarks, " That the Nation, the " Parliament, and the Court, were very differ- " ently ftflTefiled by the French Revolution : the <' firft received the intelligence of it with joy, " the ffecond with uneafinefs, the third with " terror. The voice of the Nation compelled " the Minifters to keep filence ; the interefts of ** their Cotmtry and their own intereft induced *' them to an exa£t neutralltyj which they had, " in fa£t, maintained previous to the immdrtal " day of the loth of Auguft. The depoiition ^' of the |Cing, changed on a fudden the difpo- " fition of the Cx)Ui;t of England ; and on the " 17th of Auguft fhe recalled her Artibaffador, " under the futile pretext that his letters of cre- " dence were addreffed to the late Monarch. " Difdaining diplomatic -chicaneries, France or- " dered her Ambaffador in London to continue " the exercife of his ftm£tions. Tbeviftories " of the Erench armies .appeared gradually to *' calm the fcruples of the Cabinet of St. James's. " The Englifh Minifter was. de-Eroua to kri-ow « of 90 "** of the AriibafTador what was the ultimate Jn-r , *' tentlons of the French: and the Executive " Council anfwered his enquiries with the dig- " nity and moderation which ought to charac- " terife a free people. An amicable intercourfe ¦ " was eftablifhed between the two Nations dur- " ing the months of 0£tober and November, " during which no mention was, made of th? " opening of the Scheld; but the. Englifh Mi- ?' niftry fearing for the fafety of Holland, re- " ceived a'fforances from the Executive Council " the moft proper to tranquUUze their minds. ^ " The Englifli .Minifter complained of the *' Decree of Noy,f mber, which appeared to their " apprehenfion calculated to excite all peoples " to revolt, and to promlfe an efficacious fuccour " to the firft feditious atterapt in England, and " the Executive Council gave upon this head " fuch explanations as were entirely conform- " able to the defires of the Court of London. " In a word, fuch was the difpofition of the " Britifh Cabinet towards the end of the month " of November, that all difficulties feemed in- " fenfibly to vanifh. Lord Grenville began to " recognife that as a Governraent of France,, " which he had at firft entitled th^.Governriient *« of 91 « of Paris. They ftiU affbaed fcrnples indeed " as to the charafiler of our Ambaffador, whom " they would not acknowledge as authorifed, " although they gave and courted explanations ** — Tandis qu'on provoquait et qiCon donnait des " e,vplicationsJ" Pitt, on his fide, declared in ** the beginning of December his defire of avoid- *' ing war, and he regretted that the interrup- " tion of the correfpondence of the two Cabi- *' nets 'produced miftakes of each other's raean- *' ing — Des mal entC7idus. ** On a fudden the fcene changes. The King *' of England, by two proclaraations, convenes *' the Parliament, and embodies the. Militia; *' caufes troops to^ march towards London, -and " fortifies the Tower. " The effeft of thefe meafures furpaffed even " the hopes of the Minifters. It fufficed to *' found the tocfn of alarm, and the Gazettes of *' the Court overflowed with proteftations of at- "*' tachraent to the Englifli' Conftitution, and of " horror for the French Revolution. " The public mind was in this paroxyfm of ** agitation when the Parliament met. Under • . " the 02 *' the veil of attachraent to the Gonftitution all " the hypocrify of ariftocracy difplayed Itfelf. " Part of 'the raerabers of the oppofition did " not blufb to proftitute themfelves to a corrupt " miniftry, and to burn incenfe before the idol *' of the day. ' .' .;. " In the midft of the panic terror which feiz- *' ed almoft all raen, Fox merits praife for dar- ."ing to propofe the meafure of fending an " Ahibaffadpr to France. The Minifter, fure of " the fufFrages of the Parliament In fupport ofa " war with France, appeared eager to revive " the old chicaneries refpefling the invafion of " Holland, and the Decree of the 19th Novenfe-' " ber. He even began to fpeak of the Scheld, " but above all he difplayed mere ftiffnefs " {roideur) towards your agents, more haughti- " nefs in his communications. " In thefe circumftances the Executive Coun- " cii, by the organ of your Ambaffador, caufed " a notification in writing to be made to the " Englifh Goyernment, confuting all the incul- " pations charged upon the French, complaln- " ing* of the hoftUe preparations of the Co,urt " of London, and announcing its, firm refolution « to 93 *' to operi by an appeal to the Pubfic the eyei •' of the Nation, and to take every neceffary " meafure to repel aggreffion. " You have heard the reply of Lprd Gren- *' ville to this note of M. Chauvelin. CaviUing " upon the title of the. Ambaffador, confufed " entortillage as to explications, infidious in the ** eternal repetition of complaints worn thread- " bare — this Is all which can be difcevered. " The opening of the Scheld was the firft " grievamce of the Englifh Cabinet. We wfll " not "deny that the opening of the Scheld is " contrary to the treaty of Utrecht and various •* fubfequent conventions. But in reftoring Bel- *' glum to liberty, can the French Republic vio- ** late thofe principles of eternal juftice which ** have guided her arms ?" As to the Decree of the 19th of November, he fays, " How can it be thought that a Nation " profefling a reverential refpeft for the rights *' of the people can be the protefitorsof fedition? *' A free people know how to diftinguifli relift^ *' anee from rebellion ; the will afcertained of a ,'' great majority from the partial -svifli of a few *' individuals. To proteft the few againft the " many 9^ *' many is to proteO: revolt j it is to be unjuft^ *' and a free people know not how tp be unr juft, &c. ft " Shall I recal the great crime committed by " the Convention in receiving the addrefs of di- " vers Societies in England, as if the inhabi- " tants of that Country had. no right to rejoice " in the revolution of a neighbouring people ** who had recovered their liberty. " Not only would not the Englifli Minifter i' deign to fend us an Ambaffador, but he re- '' fufed to acknowledge ours. The Republic of " France without doubt exifts, and for the con- " tinuance of her exifterice flie does not afk for " ariy foreign permiifion. But fhe may perhaps ** examine in her turn whether it is proper to ^' recognife thofe Kings who fo infolently re- ** fufed to acknowledge her as a Republic." After expatiating on the political injuftice of the Alien, Affignat, and Corn Bills, recently paffed by the Britifh Parliament in direft viola tion of the commercial treaty, while they accufe the French as the violators of all treatiesj he af firms " that laying aU circumftances together> " it is difficult not to conclude that the Cabinet « of , " the deteftation entertained for liberty by that *• Lord Hawkelbury, who behind the curtain " dire£ts his mafter, the council, and fhe cor- " rupt majprity of Parhament ; the feeble refift- " ance of Pitt and his colleagues, who no longer " oppofe the war fince It has become popular; *' the blindncfs of the Nation, and the univerfal *' hope of cruihing France, judging as they do *' from falfe and exaggerated pi£tures, and be- " lieving her plunged in dinarchy, without ma- ** rine, raoney, or refources. " On the other hand, can we believe that ** thefe demonftrations of war fhould be ferious " on the part of the Englifh Miniftry, when fo ?* many motives are difcoverable which ought " to deter them from it ; when it is evident that *' there exifts no folid motive to induce them to " it. 95 ¦ " it, that thofe which are alleged are miferabl^ *' chicaneries,. that it is impofliible to deceive " the Englifli Nation fer afty length of time, or " to perfusde her that flie ought to expend mil- " liorts to bar the navigation pf the Schfeld, or " to obtain an expiariafion of a Decree which " has been already explained ; when they fee " ihat war will deftroy their comnfterce -#hi'ch *' is now fo- flouriftilng ; when the enormous " debt of Great Britain is confidered, fo thaf " It is impoflible to difeover a fingle new article " of taxation ; when war even the moft fortu- " nate is produfllve of opprefllion, and when in " prefent clrcumfiarices it is but a fingle ffep " frora national difcontent to national revolu- *' tion? — When We coiribirie all thefe circum- *? ftances, we fhaU be tempted to regard this " war as a war of preparatives ; but- uridei? " that afpeft it is more fatal for us tha'ri vV-ar *' open arid declared." The orator then attempts to deraonftrate that France will eflter upon fuch a war in all refpe'fts to more advantage than England-. He advances ¦ divers weak and futUe arguments to proVe thaf the finances of England tfre totally exhalafted— ^ arguments no lefs fooliflii arid fallacious fAan thofe fince employed' by Mi'. Pitt to- pYove France l^raftce to be not merely ori the verge, but in the gulf of bankruptcy ; and he adduces as a decifive evidence of the extreme diftrcfs of the Englifli Treafury, thefaB that the Minifter was obliged to degrade himfelf fo far as to rob the Bank of England of half a million of dividends belonging to different unknown proprietors. He fays that England cannot man her Navy without having recourfe to the infamous expe dient of prefling, which, he afferts, will occa- Jfion an inftant and general infurreSIon. After a long enumeration of circumftances, ¦according to the reprefentation of this fpeakerj highly flattering to France and alarraing to Eng land, he concludes, " That there is nothing to " apprehend from the junfition of England to " the reft of their enemies.— What you have to *• fear," fays he " is not war, but incertitude. '" You ought then to require an explicit decla- " ration ; and if you cannot obtain it, you muft *' refolve on war. Say to the Englifli Nation, " 'The war that your Cabinet meditates againft " us, is a war impious, fratricidal, and fuch " as we hold in horror. To live in peace with '*' yon is our fole.defire. We refpe£t your rights *« and thofe of your aUies. Refpeft in return H " our '98 * " our principles. If you have any inquietudes, *' we are ready to diffipate them. But if you " have the Weaknefs to obey the perfidious im- *' pulfes of your Minifters, if you will- lend " your hands to carry cn the combats which " they are preparing, then-we declare it to you " with grief we can fee in you only cruel ene- " rales, brethren of thofe Satellites of Auftria *' of whom we have fworn the deftru£tion.' " In the general tenor of this famous report, the language of which is for the moft part in flated, and the fentiments romantic and extra vagant, there is nothing which can lead us to fuppofe that a war with England was a favourite objeft vvith M. Briffot. Far from it. He feems perplexed at the fudden change which had taken place in the Englifli Counfels, and inclined to believe that a war muft, in confequence of that change, fooner or later, unavoidably > enfue. In the profpeft of it he endeavours to' awaken all the ardour, the genius, and fpirit of his country men, in order to animate them, to engage iri this unlooked-for and arduous conteft; and he indulges, or prpfeffes to indulge, fanguine ex- pe£fations of a favourable refult from the feve ral circumftances which, in the courfe of his fpeech, he expatiates upon; but that he: was defirous 99 defirous to make the experiment, there exifts no ftiadow of proof, no fymptom of probabi Uty*. ' There is a reriiarkable conceflSoh in this fpeech of M. Briffot, with relation to Holland, which ought not to be paffed over in filence. Speak ing of the apprehenfions of the Britifh Govern ment refpe£fing the fafety. of the United Pro vinces, he fays, " L'aggreflion. du Stathouder *' envers la France, ou rinfurre£lion contre lui " de la majoritc des HoUandois, voila les feuls " eas ou la France crolrait de fon devoir et de ** fa juftice de porter les arraes dans de Provlnces- " Unies : et ces eas n'exiftent point, et la France " en ce veut refter tranquille." This is an ho nourable teftimony in favour of the Dutch Go vernment ; and the only ground upon which the fubfequent invafion of HoUand could be plaufi- bly vindicated was, that the reciprocal engage ments between that country and Great Britain were fo clofe, and intimate, that, as Mr. Marfh himfelf acknowledges, the two nations, in a political view, could only be confidered as one., But Englifh friendfhip and p rote £tion were fo * Vide the remarkable dedaratibri of M. Briflbt, mentioned by the author of thetraft, Utkum Horum, p.' 43. fatal fatal to the Stadtholder, that he might well bi allowed to exclaim : — " Pol ! me occidiftis amici, non fervailis."— ' It is, however, too evident, that neither the opening of the Scheld, nor the apprehenfion of the invafion of HoUaiid, nor the Decree of the 19th of Noveraber, were the real caufes pfthe violent and paflionate condudt of the Englifli Court. By the manner in which the addreffes from the deriiocratic Societies in England were received and anfwered by the Convention, the King's personal dignity was attacked and infulted. A total difregard of thefe indecent proceedings, fo long. as England had ftp Am baffador refident at Paris, and fo long as they were unaccompanied by any oVett a6l of en- tnity, would have been no lefs politic than mag* nanimous. The rcftoration of a regular diplo* matic Intercourfe, and the unequivocal iflani* f^ftation of thofe fentiments of good^will, of ^ven of dignified neutrality, which had charac^ • terifed the condu£t of England in the earlier ftages of the French revolutiPn,/ would unquef>- tionably bave re-eftablifhed, on a firra and folid bafis, the relations of peace and amity between the two nations. SECTION 101 , SECTION V- Containing Remarks on Chapters XF and XVI. On the 17th January (1793), while the dif patch of M. Le Brun was ftill under delibera tion, M. Chauvelin tendered to Lord GrenviUe the Letters of Credence recently received from the Government of France. On the i8th. Lord Grenville returned his anfwer to the difpatch, and on the 20th he tranfmitted a fecond letter to M. Chauvelin, informing him, " that -under the prefent circumjiances," i. e. while a negoti- •ation ivas depending between the two coun tries of the higheft importance, and the fuccefs of which might depend upon the recognition of the Ambaffador^ — " his Majefty does not think " proper to receive them." Is it poilible to offer a better or wifer reafon for this refufal than that which Mr. Fox affigned in a celebrated fpeech in Parliament, and which appears to have given fuch offence to the delicate feelings ¦of Mr. Marfh, viz. '• that the heads ofthe Ex- *' ecutive Council in France had not been " anbinted from the holy oil cruife, before the « altar of Rheims ?" Mr. 102 . Mr. Marfli affeSs, indeed (vol. II. p. 304), to fpeak of this recognition as a fwoour, or expref fion of friendjhip, to which the French Republic had no claira ; as if the recognition in queftion had been a raere raatter of external decorum, inftead pf a high confideration of national vvif- dora and policy. Suppofing the French nation not to be entitled to any peculiar demonftra tions of favour or friendfhip, is there any trace of fenfe or reafon. In a pertinacious refufa to ftyle that a Government which we are compet led to treat as fuch, though It were founded in violence and ufurpation ? Did any of the powers of Europe reafon in this raanner in the cafe of Crorawell ? Had we not affairs of great iraport ance to tranfa^t with this Government, whether it were regular or irregular, lawful or unlawful ? and could a refufal to ackriowledge it as a Go vernment arifwer any purpofe but that of irri tation ? In whora, at this period, did the Go vernraent of France refide, if not in the Execu tive Council and Convention ? And with whom did the right irifeparable frpm a Government, as fuch, under -whatever ctenomination, to no minate agents, to treat, with other Governments, inhere, if not in thera } — Surely not in the de graded, powerlefs, unfortunate Monarch ! Lord Grenville certainly had not ftudied the fcience of poHtics . 103 • , .4 politics in the fchool of Grotius, who exprefsly fays, " A prince does not ftipulate for himfelf, " but for the people under his governraent; " and a King deprived of his kingdom, lofes " the right of fending Ambaffadors." Grotius de Bell. Neither the 'exiftence or the perraanence of the new Republic depended upon the recogni tion of the Englifli Court, and the interefts of the two countries imperioufly demanded that fome open and authorifed mode of communi cation fhould be eftabUftied between them; and thofe interefts were In this Inftance manifeftly facrificed' to the ralferable pride and folly of court etiquette. It is true, that the feelings pf Miniftry might be hurt at a compliance which they had fo long and fo obftinately declined;; but this mortification they moft unneceffarily brought upon themfelves. Had the recognition of the French Republic been made in that negative fo'-m which the uninterrupted refidence of Lord Gower would have implied, there would have exifted no ne ceffity for making it in a more pofitive manner. Butour wife Minifters chofe to place this quef tion foremoft upon the canvas, and to make an exprefs *¦:," 104 .exprefs and formal difpute of it. '* Why," as was forcibly at the time afked, " fliould we ufe " fuch a dfqualif-ifing meafure againft Pur Pwn " purpofes as that of contefting to B^rance its " having an organ left wherewith to addrefs " foreign powers ? Did we queftion the late *' King of Sweden's title to mix in the diplo- **' matic circles of Europe, becaufe he had en- " flaved his people? and yet, becaufe France *' has depofed its king, France is not allowed " to be recognifed as a power, but is ' Mon. *' ftrura, horrendum, infornie, irigens, cui lumen " ademptum' *." Mr. Marfli tells us (p. 206), " that the Bri- " tifli Minifters muft neceffarily have preferred " the continuance of a monarchical form of " government In France, to the eftablifliment *' of a republic, becaufe great republics are na- " turally incUned to be both reftlefs in thenl- " felves, and to difturb the peace of their neigh- " hours." But if we take a retrofpeftive view of the Hiftory of France for the laft 250 years* what great republic could be more reftlefs in itfelf than this great monarchy for the firft half pf that term, or more difpofed to difturb the "* Comments on th? propofed War wjth France, p. lOQ. " peace 105 peace of her neighbours than fhe has moft no- toriou.iy been for the latter part of It ? " The inhabitants of France, however," ac cording to Mr. Marfh, p. 2.07, "- having at *' length difcovered that they are fighting In '*• fupport of tyranny, and not of liberty, the " fame railitary enthufiafm cannot be exp£'£ted " to charafterlfe theni in future." To this re- fleftion the vi£tories of the prefent campaign, and the wide extent of Gallic conquefts, from the Po to the Danube, have already afforded a very decifive anfwer. M. Briffot, in his report to the Convention on the 1 2th January, fpeaking of the Britifli Minifters, ufes the expreflion, " lis prevoyaient *' que cette republique pouvait fe confolider, et *' porter le flambeau des revolutions en' toute " I'Europe." For this forefight, Mr. Marfli afcribes to thefe deep politicans great honour, and declares it " to have been undoubtedly their " duty to avoid a ftep (viz. the recognition of ** the republic) which would have given addi- " tiondl force to the engine of deftruflion." But this reafoning is very futile. All raen of pene tration, whether friendly or adverfe to the French revolution ih its commencement, faw in its pro- grefsf 10^ grefs the danger to which Europe was expofeS by the burfting of this great political volcano. Had the Englifh Minifters, then, been grave and confiderate ftatefmen, they would have carefully avoided feeding this flaming mountain with frefh eombuftibles ; and if It were not by mortal art to be extlngulfhed, at leaft to ftand at a fafe diftance and fuffer It unmolefted to burn out. The recognition in queftion, to drop all metaphor, could add no» thing to the political force of France ; but the pertinacious and haughty refufal of fuch recogni tion might, and did, add to thp force of her paffiom and the ftrength of her refentment ; which was, iit fafl:, " contributing voluntarily to the energy •* of a power which," according to Mr. M. ' •* had already declared itfelf hoftile."' Mr. Pitt, in his famous fpeech of February 3d, I Soo, has Indeed thought fit. In vindication of this refufal, to lay a very great ftrefs upon the exam- fk of Count Bernftorf, by general, acknowledge ment. If this may be faid without giving offence to Mr. Pitt, the wifeft Minifter in Europe. , ,But no two cafes can be more dlffimilar. Denmark is a fecondary po-wer, which muft, in a cer tain, de- , gree, regulate its own condufl: by that of its more potent neighbours. Yet in thefe circumftances, Baro^ 107 Baron Blohm, the Danlfli Ambaffador at Paris, in Auguft 1792, did not Immediately retire from the French territory, in confequence of the events ofthe loth of that month. In Me/^ circum ftances, Denmark kept up a regular and amicable intercourfe with France. In thefe circumftances, M. GrouVelle was received with facility and, good will, as the authorifed agent of France ; and, as foon as the new French conftitution was eftab lifhed, as the accredited Minifter of the Republic. But the different fpirit and temper with Which even the fame aftlons are performed, will produce the moft oppofite effefts. Great Britain is a primary power in Europe. Her councils have never been Influenced by the -dread of incurring the difpleafure of other powers. It Is for her to fet, not to follow ex amples. From no other motive than ill-will to FrancCj on the depofition of the King, the Britifh Miniftry recalled their own Ambaffador j and perfifted, In very critical circumftances, moft in- vidloufly and contemptuoufly to refufe all recog. nition of M. Chauvelin as the Ambaffador of France. A negotiation of great moment depend ing between the two nations, fhe in the fame breath reproached M- Chauvelin for not being an ac credited minifter, and reje^ed the credentials which 108 which he offered : and this Minifter, after fuiFer- . ing a feries of indignities and Infults, was at length ordered to depart the kingdom in eight days. This, according to the fecond article of the Treaty of 1786, which the Court of London acknowledged to be ftill In force, was equivalent to a Declaration' of War on the part of England; and a Counter- declaration was immediately publifhed on the part of France. As Mr. Pitt feemed eager to draw the parallel, in this inftance, between himfelf and the Count de Bernftorf, it would be well if he would con template with attention the pohtical charafter of that great ftatefman throughout ; and then apply, with impartiality, the touchftone to his own con dufl:. Of Count Bernftorf It has been truly and, nobly faid, that he punfl:uaUy fulfilled the pro- mlfes he made, and uniformly adhered to the principles which raifed him to povirer. His great and leading ambition was to improve and meliorate the conftitution of his country and the condition of his countrymen ; and he feduloufly laboured to preferve Denmark in peace with all foreign powers. As he detefted wars abroad, he never employed either fples or .informers at home. He adml- niftered juftice In mercy ; and while he added to the Uberties, he dimuiilhed as much as poffibl? the burdens 109 burdens of his his fellow-fubje£l:s. His benevolent and comprehenfive mind rofe far fuperlor to all diftinfl;ions of fefl: and party ; and In return, all fefl:s and parties, or In other words all Denmark, joined in their admiration and applaufe of him while living, and in lamenting their unfpeakable lofs when this friend arid ornament of human na ture ceafed to exift ; knowing that he exifted only for the good of his country and of mankind. Mr. Pitt never having made the experiment, has no conception what the fpirit of conciliation com bined with the fpirit of wifdom is able to effe£t. No fooner was this final and peremptory refufal to recognife the Republic, In the perfon of Its Am baffador, known at Paris, than an order of recal was tranfmitted to M. Chauvelin, by the Execu tive Council. And on the fucceeding day, Janu- afy 24th, upon the Intelligence of the death of the Kingof France (January 2 ift), M. Chauvelin received an order to depart the kingdom within eight days. But Mr. M. by a miferable cavil, maintains that the Britifli Government did not difuafs a -F^eftch Ambaffador, becaufe M. Chau- X^n hiad only been Accredited by Louis XVt. who was now no more 5 and his credentials ceafed from i^t tiim t0 be v»M. Notwith- no Nofwlthftaridlng the final reje£lion of the new letters of credence, and the ponfequent recal of the Ambaffador by the Executive Council, the French Government had the merit, beyond- any reafonable expeQ;ation, of making another effort for peace. On the 26th of January, three days after the. recal of M.' Chauvelin, M. Maret, the confiden tial agent approved by Mr. Pitt, was difpatched by the Council to London, with new inftruflions* ; But no fooner was he landed at Dover, than he was informed of the hoftUe difmlffion of Chauvelin— whom he met on the road — ^by the Engfifh Court. He immediately wrote to M. Le Brun for frefh orderSjvand proceeded to the metropolis.; Jn the afl:ual circumftances of the cafe,, not deeming himfelf empowered to demand an interview, or to make any direfl: overture, he contented himfelf with fending a fhort note to Lord Grenville, informing him that he had come over to take: charge of the diplomatic papers in the houfe of the. French Envoy. Of this his Lordfhip took not the leaft notice. M.- Maret remained, there fore, incognito in London, tUl the intelUgence arrived of'the French Declaration of War ; wh^it he fent a fecond letter to Lord Grenville, to take leave, and returned to Paris. What Ill What the original inflruaions of M. Maret wcre^ yet remain a fijcret : it is, however, univerfally, and upon the beft grounds, believed that the cOnceffions he was empowered to make were very great. And Mr. Miles, a gentleman of great ve racity and refpeftabihty, perfonally acquainted both vrith M. Maret, and M. Le Brun, and who has pubHfhed an Interefting account of thefe tranf^ aflions, though his political fentiments are much in favour of Minifters, exprefsly fays, *' The " propofitlons which the ' Executive Council hai " authorifed M. Maret to offer, and which would *' have been offered if M. Chauvelin had not lefit *' London, but which I am not at llbei^y to re- *' veal, were fo different from the imperious lan- *' guage which M. Le Brun had lately affumed, " and the conceffions were fo much greater than " it was reafonable to fuppofe would have been *' made after what had paffed, that I doubted the *' fincerity of them at the time." Such is the naked faft, and as to the matter of ©pinion whether the language of, M. Le Brun or of Lord GrenviUe were beft charafterlfed by the epithet imperious, the world will judge. On the 25th of January, copies of the papers which had paffed between Lord Grenville and M. Chauvelin 112 Chauvelin were laid before the StatesGmeralby Lord Auckland, accompanied with a memorial of fuch a nature that aU the coUeftions of diploma tic papers ever publifhed may be fafely challenged tP furnlfh any thing fimilar to it. Under the veil and pretence of being an official document, it contained a moft furious and rancorous inveftive againlft the French Revolution and its authors: difcovering a ftrange and total difregard to die dignity and decorum of the charafter and fbitian of an Ambaffiidor. In this lunatic State Paper, the terms " wretches," *' vUlany," " atrocity," *' infamous," &c. were ufed with as little raferve as if authorifed by diplomatic prefcription. What is truly aftcmifhing after all this, is, that an overture on the part of General Dumouriez .to Lord Auckland, propofing a conference with his lordfhip at fome place near the borders, was re ceived by this Minifter, as M. Dumouriez tells us, with the greateft pleafure, and he inftantly, with the approbation of General Dumouriez, com municated the propofition to the Grand Pen- fionary, "Van Spiegel, who likewife confented to take part in the confesence. His Lordfhip alfo dif patched no lefs than three packet-boats to England to obtain the confent of his Court, and infferoc- tions relative to the conference. He faid, "that "the 113 tiie anfwer w6uid foon arrive, and that it " was *' by no means his defign to amufe the General, •' or to delay his plans or preparations for the *' next campaign." It was decided that as foon as Lord Auckland received the anfwer from his Courts that the conference Ihould be held at the Moerdyke, on board a Yacht of the Prince of Orange. During the refidence of M. Maret in London, the Britifh Government received intel ligence from Lord Auckland of the propofition of Dumouriez, who himfelf reprefents Maret as a perfon fent to pave the way for. his reception — " On envpie," fayS the General, in a letter to Miranda, *' un agent fecret fort connu de M. Pitt *' pour demander un fauf conduit pour moi, et *' I'affuranCe d'etre bien venu," &c. And, In his Memoirs, he tells us, " II fut decide que Maret, " qui avait d^ja fait plufieurs voyages en Angle- " terre, y feralt renvoye pour favoir de M. Pitt *' fi reellement II fouhaitait traiter perfonnellement *' avec le G€n^ral Dumouriez." Toiri i. p. 121. It appears, however, that the-commlflion entrufted to M. Maret was of a more general and extenfive nature than the vanity of Dumouriez fuffered hlrii lo fufpeft. The EngUfh Government confented with the utmoft facility to the propofed conference at the I Moa-dyke, 114 Moetdyke, and formally authorifed Lord Auck land to treat with Dumouriez. On the receipt of his inftrufl;Ions, Lord Auckland difp atched a courier to the General, who was then at Antwerp, and propofed the i oth February for holding the firft conference ; but this defign was altogethef fuperfeded by the declaration of war on the part of France againft Great Britain and Holland, on the ift of that month. It muft not be omitted, that General Du mouriez himfelf informs us (Mem. vol. I. p. 128"), *' that De Maulde, a confidential agent of the *' Executive Cotmcil at the Hague, had been *' affured by Lord Auckland, that the Britifh *' ^Cabinet would have no objeftlon to negotiate *' with General Dumouriez ;" and likewife, *' that Mr. Pitt himfelf had made a declaration to *' the fame purpofe." And it appears, that not only the overture of Dumouriez was founded upon this bafis, but that he entertained ftrong fufpicions of an infidious defign on the part of the EngUfh Government. " On pourrait croire," fays he, " que le Miniftre Pitt n'auralt voulu " qu'amufer le General Dumouriez." In this conjefture, however," Dumouriez was probably miftaken. Pitt himfelf certainly wijhed for peace ; but he had not energy of mind to ftem the torrent 113 torferit of opinion, which, fince the extraordinary meafures of alarm adopted by the Government, had run violently for war. The coUeftlve deter minations of the Cabinet were the manifeft refult of paffion and folly, and the Minifters who then guided, and who ftill guide, the counfels of the ftate^ ftand charged before God and their country for precipitating the nation Into a deftruftlve and ruinous conteft, which has often been afferted, but has never yet been proyed, to be either juft or neceffary. SECTION VI. Conclufion, As, In the grand hlftoric pifture of the eventful times in which we live, the charafter 'of Mr. Pitt muft ever ftand prominent on the canvasj It muft be a queftion of more than hiftoric curiofity, to afcertain what that charafter really is. It has been drawn with ftrokes fo mafterly, and in a ftyle fo pecuUarly feUcItous, by a certain wrlter> In a traft pubUfhed a few years fince *, that no other apo logy will be neceffary for the freedom of tran- fcrlbing it on the prefent occafion, as expreffing * " Enquiry into the Merits of Mr. Pitt's Adminiftration," by Charles Faulkner, efq. the 116 the lentiments bf thoufands, once his partial atf- vocates, with the utmoft preeifion and fidelity. This able writer obferves, *' that confidering *« the rank which Great Britain holds, and which *' it is to be hoped fhe wUl ever hold, in the fcale of " nations, It muft, at all times, be a fubjeft of *' more importance than can immediately be calcu- ** lated, both to ourfelves and others, whether GUI' *•* councils are direfted by a real ftatefman, whofe " temperate and perfpicuous wifdom may proteft *' and advance the interefts ofhis fellow-creatures ; *' or are governed by fome pUufible orator, the *' meafures of whofe rafh and puzzled admlniftra- *' tion may extend to a degree unprecedented, *' and, perhaps, perpetuate the miferles of man- *' kind, and the degradation of the human race. " By the eftablilhment of a Sinking Fund, Mr. *' Pitt has, indeed, deferved, and he has very amply *' received, the approbation of bis countrymen. " It may with truth be affirmed, that by this fingle *' meafure he lias done more to promote thelir *' happinefs, than by all the flowing declama- *' tions he has ever uttered. Yet muft this praife *' be given 'wIth the moft confiderable quaUfica- " tions and abatements. His conduft, even on " this occafion, is incumbered with that paflioa « for 117 " for popularity, which has fo often perfuaded " him to fuffer the public to be, in faft, de- " ceived ; and with that poverty of fpirit, which " feems never to allow him to aft without difguife. ** The furplus of a mUlion fhould have been fe- " cured by taxes, as Dr. Price originally recom- " mended 5 but our Minifter chofe to fee his mea- *• fure maimed and crippled in its operation, and " rendered almoft wholly inefl^cknt, rather than *' run the rllk of a trifling diminution of his popu- *' larity, by the impofition of a burthen on the *' country, which would, in this cafe alone, haye ^* been falptary, and calculated for their relief. ** Yet, with his own ability and virtue, was Mr. *' Pitt fo completely enraptured, that he expreffed " a hope, in the Houfe of Commons, ' that he " fhould have his name Infcrlbed on a pillar to *' public credit^ as Its preferver and reftorer.' *' There can be no doubt that the attention of *' Mr. Pitt had been originally direfted to this ** meafure by the writings of Dr, Price. It was *' this intelligent philanthropift that Mr. Pitt when " he came Into office thought proper to fummon *' to his affiftance. Such were the obligations of *' the Minifter, to a man whofe name was to have *' found no place innhe infcrlption of the pillar to " national credit^ while the Minifter's was to be *' preferved 118 *' preferved and recorded for the admiration of *' ages ! * The purity of Mr. Pitt's motives may, " be left to the declfion of that gre^t tribunal, " where alone they can be accurately examined j *' but his ability as a Minifter muft be, neceffarily, *' left to us to appreciate and decide upon : a fub-. " jeft of fair difcuffion ; an objeft of very reafon-. **¦ able doubt, Omitium confenfu dignus imperii. *' ni'fi. imperaffet, is the charafter of one of the. *' Roman emperors, as delineated by the hlftorlan. *' Tacitus. Mr. Pitt might. In Uke manner, have " been thought capab}e of ruUng, had he never * Dr. Price has been accufed of giving -way, too much and toOj eafily, to the feelings of political defpondency : yet his decided opinion -was, that the nation, in the exifting drcumjlances of the year 1786, was fully equal to the creation of a Sinking Fund of 1;wo millions ; and that opinion fubfequent events have abundantly verified : but Mr. Pitt's exceffive timidity would confent only to the eftablifliment of a fund of one million ; and for this, as is well known, he never made any adequate provjfion. Dr. Price himfelf, the moft humble and difinterefted of men, declared, not without emotion, to the author of the prefent REMARKS, " that Mr. P. jn the fpeech witK which he introduced the Sinking-Fund Bill, never once mentioned his name, or ever deigned to take the flight- eft notice of him afterwards ; though Mr. P. could not l?ut know,' that the Marquis qf Lanfdowne, that truly able ftatefman, to -whom he himfelf owed his high and early advancement, and what was a ftill more impreflive confideration, that his late father, the great Earl of Chatham, had invariably treated this virtuous and diftinguiflied patriot with. all the marks of th? ifloft cordial efteem, and friend-fliip." *' ruled. ** ruled. The promife of his early talents has not " been fulfiUed : and If we ftill admire. It is the " triumph of partiality over experience. For his " ability it feems impoffible to contend. If we at- *' tentlvely furvey all his adminiftration, and re- *' fleft, at the fame time, that he has been a Mi- " nifter v/Ith fuch advantages as no other Minl- *' fter ever yet poffeffed. A moft fmgular con- " currence of circumftances has, at all times, *' throvm every thing into his power, and left *' every thing at his devotion. Yet has he, from " the firft, condefcended to adopt fuch petty tricks, *' expedients, and fineffes, as his mind. If It had *' been really vigorous and great, muft, at all *' times, have rejefted with contempt. a " In the conduft of Mr. Pitt, there Is never found that fearlefs fimpllclty, that dignified can- *' dour, which are the genuine offspring of an *' elevated mind, and the true criterion of real wif- " dom. It is thefe that Incline and enable others " to meet our wifhes, and accede to our propo- " fals. It Is thefe that leave thofe for whom we *' aft nothing to complain of, and thofe whom we *' oppofe nothing to accufe. Minifters who are ** aftuated by thefe principles, have no occafion to " appeal for the propriety of their meafures to the " fanftion they have received from their majorities 120 " in Parliament 5 and are under no neceflky coa» " tinually to refufe papers and ftop enquiries ; for *' they have nothing to conceal, and tb^y ^r^ une *' willing to deceive, " From the firft opening, of the French Revo? *' lution to the prefent hourj Mr. Pitt 'has at nq *' time difplayed that commanding forefight which *^ marks a fuperipr mind, or that controlling prun *' dence which we have a right to expeft In him *' who undertakes the jnanjigement of the Intereftsi ^' of millions. At no feafon h^s he ever endea, *' voured to ftem the torrent of pubUc prejiidices^ ^' or to make the people calm and wife when they *' were Inflamed and ignorapt, The ftream of *' pubUc opinion he has al-vvays fubmitted patiently *' and diligently to watch, and to float upon Its ** furface ; not direft its courfe where wifdom or *' patriotlfm might fuggeft. The nonfenfe of the " Teft-Aft, the rubbifti of the Penal Laws, the " corruption of our reprefentation, in him find a *' ftatefman ever ready to ftep out in their defence " and fupport, under the ready and impenetrable *' fhleld of exifting circumftances. The mind of *' the nation under his aufplces makes no advances; *? he turns its ignorance or its prejudices to his *' own advantage ; he labours not to correft thera ** at the hazard of his own power. No fentiment « has jei ?* has he ever uttered, to np plan has he ever ad, »' heredj which can be Ihewri tp have been Incon- f* fiftent, at the time, with what he may hava *^ fuppofed to be his intereft as ji, IVlInlfter. At- ^* tachraent to their fituation is the univerfal fault *' -^the vulgar motive of all the Uttle Minifters *' that have ever difgraced the cabinets of princes: " yet by this wretched principle has the condu£^ ** of Mr. PItt been uniformly governed and di* *' refted. Throughout the whole of Mr. Pitt's ^' adminiftration, we may difcern the fkllful par-r ^' Uamentary leader ; the attentive obferver of *' times and feafons ; the modulator of the notes ** of the Houfe of Cpmmons : but we never be* ^ hold the inftruftor of nations, or the enlightened *' Minifter of a great people. He has eloquence, *' but not -wifdom j a love of patronage and power, *' no enlarged or dignified ambition ; and all the *' rafhnefs and infolence of genius, without its fen» *' fibifities or its force. ** The inhabitants of this country have been *' chiefly mifled in their opinion of the abUIty of *' Mr. Pitt, by too inconfiderate an admiration of " his talents as an orator. Yet they fhould al# " ways have confidered, that he who is eloquent *' is not neceffarily wife : the greateft ftrength of «' aiempry combined with a ready fupply of gUt- ** tering 162 *' tering language, are not unfrequently united *'"wlth weaknefs of judgment. It is the weight, " not the variety, of ideas with which wifdom Is " concerned ; fhe Is fufpicious pf a multitude of " words, left fhe Ihould be deceived and bewil- *' dered. " Amplification Is the great bufinefs of elo- " quence; while the firft occupation of wifdom " Is to reduce every thing, If poffible, to Its ori- " ginal elements. Enthufiafm Is the foul of the *' one ; calmnefs the effence of ithe other. The *' one diftlnguilhes not, examines not, hefitates *' not, reflefts not ; the other Is cautious, fcrupu- *' lous, patient, and deliberative. The reviver of *' American taxation, and the confequent authoir *' of the American war, was Charles Townlhend, *' * the delight of the Houfe of Commons.' If we " retire from ihe fpeech of Mr. Fox, our concep- *' tions are enlarged ; we have food for contem- *' plation: the Impreffions which our judgment " has received can never be obUterated. On the *' contrary, the fpeech of Mr. Pitt Is a fplendid *' -yifion, fading every moment from pur view, " and never to be recalled. There is an eloquence *' pf the mind as well as of the tongue. "If In any part of this pifture there fhould ap- *' pe^r 1G3 *' pear a colouring too bold, fome allowance may " be extended to the emotions of the artlft, whofe •* pencil might be betrayed while his mind was " warmed with indignation, or hurried into difguft *' by the contemplation of a form which he was *' confcious had been long the idol, and was ftill ** the favourite, of his countrymen ; while to him " it appeared without beauty and without ftrength ; ** with no fimpllclty to engage, no elegance to *' charm ; fierce in its mien, and unnatural In Its *' geftures ; a form which fpread deftruftlon as " It nioved — ^whlch It was Impoflible to admire — *' which It was ftill more impoffible to love." "With relation to Lord Grenville, who fuftalns the fecond part in the political drama, but whofe talents for public bufinefs appear fo Inadequate to the exigencies of the times, it were fincerely to be wifhed, previous to his again engaging In the ar duous tafk of negotiation, that he would be pleafed to devote fome fmall fhare of his attention to the writings of Sir William Temple, with the laudable view of imbibing. If poflible, a portion of the fpi rit of that able and fortunate politician, fo long and fo juftly celebrated as the mbft perfeft model of diplomatic wifdom. In M. de "VVit, Sir Wil liam Temple, indeed, met with a congenial mind ; and to this, and the faciUty of reftoring a fyftem forcibly forcibly deranged to its natural order, he attribute ed the Wonderful fuccefs of his miffion to the Hague, In J 668. But that great Minifter knew how much was due to the extraordinary addrefs of the Englifli Ambaffador. " Toute la modefti? d© votre ralfonnement," fays . the Penfionary, " ne *' m'empechera pas de croire que tout autre Mi« *« niftre que fa Majefte Brjtanique cut envoye a. la " Haye n'auroit pas fait en bien des mojs ce que *"¦ vous avez acheve en quatre jours," Any perfon who reads with a difcerning eye the difpatehes of the Ambaffador, and in parti* cular the letters addreffed to Lord Arlington of the 36th, and to the Lord Keeper Bridgeman of the 27th January 1668, will not deem the compli* ment ftrained : " C'eft la parfaite confiance," fays he to M. Gourvelle, " qui nous a reciproquement *' uni M. le Penfionnaire et mpi ; il fe Ioue de moi " et de ma maniere d'agir, qui comme vous favez *' eft toujours franche et ouverte." Speaking ofthe negotiations carrying on betweeq, the Marquis del Caftel Rodrigo and the deputies of Holland, he tells us, " that when the deputies ** demanded an audience or a paper, if they have *' it not within half an hour, they fay, * Le Marquis *' fe mpcque d'eaux, et ils fe trouvent obliges de " I'ecrire n3 ** I'ecrire ce foir aux etats, et que le Marquis tki *' cherche que retarderaents, et par-la de les en* *' gager dans la guerre.' So that, in all their au- *' diences, between the Marquis's eloquence and " their Leyden phllofophy, the cards commonly *' run high, and all is pique and repique between *' them : and I ara to go to one and the other, next *' day, to fet all right again, and endeavour to *' make them agree afunder upon points which •' they could by no means agree upon together.'* In a letter to M. de Wit, April 17, 1668, he thus expreffes himfelf: " Je n'ai encore rien re* *' marque dans le cours de cette affaire dont je ne *' fuffe venu k bout avec ^ous fans le molndre *' chagrin, mais meme agrement. Et je ne vous " dirai point les peines et les foucis que j'ai en a *' menager toutes chofes entr'eux, et a prevenir *' des eclats et les repartles piquantes qu'ils etoient *' prets de fe faire a tout bout de champ. J'ai em- *' ploye pour cela toute mon addreffe, car je falfols *' cette reflexion, que les difpofitions, ou fi vous " voulez les paffions, des Miniftres ont une grande " influence fur celles du maJtres." ^ To Sir John Trevor, upon another occafion, he fays to the fame efFeft (Dec. 10, 1669), " For " aught U6 *' alight I fee, all bufineffes depend upon the quatii '* ties ofthe men that manage them." That lUuftrlous ftatefihatt, M. de Wit, iit reply to complaints received from the Englifh Court (Oft. i6ya) relatwe to infults offered to the per fonal dignity of the king, fays, in language worthy .of fo great a man, " je fouhalterols que de part et *' d'autre II n'eut paru des libelles, des vers, deS *' medalUes, &c. Et j'avoue volontiers qu'en ce *' pais I'on fe donne un peu trop de llcenfe en *' des certalnes chofes. "Vous, Monfieur, et ceux *' qui vous reffemblent, vous etes au-deffus de ce *' que vous nommez bien bagatelles, et ne vous "arretes qu'aux vBrit ables intentions de It muft Indeed be acknowledged, that the in- fults offered to the perfonal dignity of the prefent Monarch, by the Convention of France, were of an higher and more ferious nature than thofe alluded to by M. de Wit ; but they originated un der circumftances of peculiar irritation ; and pro ceeded evidently from refentment at the infult prevloufly offered to them. Moft unqueftionably the real views of the ftate, " les verit ables inten- " tions de Vkat," were not hoftile any farther than 1:87 than they conceived thofe of England to be fo ; and there cannot exift the flighteft rational doubt but that a Temple or a de Wit would, without difficulty, have terminated the whole difpute, for midable In appearance rather than In reality, by a fpeedy and amicable eclairciffement. It may be proper to obferve, that the numerous animadverfions of Mr. M. on the celebrated pam phlet of Mr. Erfldne are paffed over In filence, as being merely argumenta ad hominem, and therefore wholly Irrelevant In difcuffing the real merits of the queftion. It muft be acknowledged that this popular traft, abounding as It does with liberal and noble fentiments. Is rather to be con fidered as an eloquent pleading, than as an exaft and accurate ftatement of fafts. There are three other publications, by three very diftlnguifhed perfons Pn the fame fide; each of which In Its way poffeffes very great and extraordinary merit. The firft is Mr. Fox's ever-memorable Letter to his Con ftituents; the fecond is the admirable Addrefs to the King, moved in the Houfe of Commons by Mr. Grey, on the 21ft Feb. 1793, and recorded on the Journals of the Houfe; ahd thirdly, not inferior to either, is the traft ftyled, " The Queflion Stated, March 1798," by Mr. Francis. AU of them are thp evident produftions of wife and able 6S!e Statefmen, whd, uninfluenced by the Wild &'iii. teinporary alarms, prejudices, atid clamours, of the times in ¦which they liVe, offer to theif felloW- dtlzens that found and falutary advice, which the Nation, through the artifices and mifreprefentations cf interefted and defigning men, waSj and is, ift a ftate too diftempered even to attend to, and much lefs to follow. Thefe excellent writings will, not-* withftanding, ever remain, to adopt the language of the illuftrious Earl of Chatham, in relation to his provifional bill for effefting a reconciliation with America, " monuments of their earneft, hoW- ** ever ineffeftual, endeavours to ferve their coun-» « try." A few concluding r^Htai'ks may be pf ufe, as a general recapitulary ftatement an^ fummary of fafts. Mr. Pitt came into office, fupported by the voice of the Nation, aftiiated on the one hand, • by recent refentmftit, originating In a combination tf ill-ftarred accidents, againft a Statefman of thfe higheft talents, of long experience, of unbouricled philanthropy, guided by ther profoundeft political fagacity; and on the other, by the too fanguine and romantic hope which ffie indulged of a young, artful, and afpiring rival; an OtSavius in politics, .who m who eagerly fpught for occafions to advance himfelf, wjthput pafling t}ir.ough the neceffary gradations of office, to the firft dignities of the fl:ate. Early inftrufted, however, in the true principles of poUti cal wifdom, and connefted from his firft entrance .i|>to public Ufe vrith perfons diftinguiflied for un-* ^erftandjng ancj llbe|-^lity, he goverped for three years with prudence and repjitation. But at the; end pf this term one of thofe crltlea,l queftions occurred which in the courfp of ye^rs will oc- cafionally arife, requiring not art and plaH;fibi-», fity merely, but refolution and penetration to 4ecide upon. This was the queftion refpeftmg the repeal of the Teft Laws. By arguing in de fence pf the equity and expediency of thefe juftly i^bnoj^ous ftatuteg, he deferted one pf the cleareft and moft facred principles of whiggifm. Such a queftion might furely have been left to take its chance in the Houfe of Comrqpns, without hav ing to encounter the eloquence of a l^inifter, •whp fet out In life as an advocate of liberal reform. , Had the flighteft countenance been glyen by the Court to thp motion of. Mr. Beaufoy, it woj^ld unqupftionably have paffed without difliculty. "^^he Parliament and Natipn wf re ripe for this mea fure of policy and juftice, but Mr. Pitt employed . his influence to cpunteraft It. - S J4ch a nieafqre as this would have led the way to other liberal and K rational 130 National reforms in their proper gradation, and as the country became fufficiently enlightened to ap prove, or at leaft to endure them : and thefe re forms, the good effefts of which If judlcioufly' con- dufted muft have been immediately apparent," Would have effeftually precluded all fubfequent attempts to 'diffufe the fpirit of difcontent and difaffeftion. This great point being conceded by Mr. Pitt to the Tory and High-church party in the' Cabinet, he neceffarily loft the confidence and efteem of the moft -intelligent and liberal perfons in rile community, who difcerned in this acqulefcence infinite attendant and confequent mifchief. From ftep to ftep, Mr. Pitt has completely abandoned his original prmciples of whiggifm ; arid has at length become the greateft and moft dangerous enemy of Kberty that this Nation ever knew, In the fame fpirit of pufiUanlmous acqulefcence to his Tory co-adjutors, after refufing to accede to the overtures of amity and aUiance, and to the requeft of mediation made by France at different! times, he coufaited at leaft to the recal of Lord Gower from Paris, at a time when the prefence of an Ambaffador was more neceffary than at any period fince the commencement of diplomatic in tercourfe between the two Nations. ' He 131 He went the farther ftep of refufing j in com mon with the reft of the Cabinet, all recognition ofthe Ambaffador of France In England. He joined his colleagues In exciting a falfe and Infidious alarm, for the purpofe of enabling the Court of London to avenge itfelf of the infults offered to the perfon of the King, In the tutnultuous meet ings of the Convention: the folly and madnefs of whofe proceedings would have furnlfhed a real Statefman with an additional and powerful- motive for coolnefs and moderation. He gave his countenance at leaft ' to the fenfelefs and infuffer able infolence and arrogance of Lord Grenville's letters to M. Chauvelin; and the temperate and liberal advances of the French Executive Coun cil were repulfed with ineffable contempt. ' ' As the fummit of human folly, M. Chauvelin was at length ordered to depart the kingdom in eight days, though the death of the King of France was an event which it no more Imported Great Britain to revenge than the affaffination of KouU Khan ; and though a war could not but be the immediate refult of fuch a ftep. In confequence of thi's unjuft and unneceffary war, into' which the Nation was, againft all rules of political Wifdora, precipitated, by the pride; and rafh.- aefs of Minifters, thefe kingdoms have been in volved 332 yoLved jp dangers z^d difiiq;J%^ gre^ifer ^^fptote p,larming than flj.e ever befprp experiepced., .§h^ has be^p rediiced tp comba^, not merely m hpjf own defence, but fpr her very exiflei^ce. Siich outrages Iiave been offered, and fnch de predations made upon the Conftitution of the country, tljat it may l|e ^d -tp be expiring pJ^4p| fhe wounds It faa^ recelyed in the houfe of iff prjE^' jtenAed fpends. ^ And a |yftem ojF ta:jfation has bee^ jpftabUfhefi whiph refembles rather the Indlfcrimfr nate pillage and plunder of jn jfioftUeiny^d^r, thaij the yojuiitary cqntribwtion ef a free sifid generous We have feen on one fide qf the Channel which divides the pritIlh.IflaJ|4? o™" fel|ow-fubje|fts exaf- pera|:ed Into rebellion, and perifhing under the ipdge of jt^e fvyord : ^n^, pn tjhe other, terrified into nnlyerfq.1 fubmiflion, ^nd in tjie filence of defpair ftarvlngwithhijijgerj while placemen, cop- traftors, Ipan jobjiersj and tjif hol|:qf Ipcufts which prey upon the vitals of the landj are accum^ijatlng out ofthe deep diftreffes of the people ftupendous fortufies — frppi.th^ tfRW^rs pf pleafurp ^nd pf opu lence furveylng with frigid indiff^refjcp tjjp fur- rounding abodes of mifery ; zx^^ yikh pnblqfjiing effrontefy proclaiming .amidft tlieir 5|joi|yngb|e revels. ,133- revels, mafques, and orgLi, that the Wv\.r is tiOLv,. jiUsT, and necessary. The name of Mr. Pitt will be immortalifed In. hiftory, as the man who has added more to the burdens, and fubtrafted more from the liberties of the fubjeft, than all the ftatefmen v/ho have pre ceded him in office fince the Revolution. No MI- nifter ever challenged the confidence of the coun try with fuch haughtinefs; and no Minifter ever fo completely forfeited all rational pretenfion, to that confidence he fo prematurely and proudly claimed. T,Ba-mjon,. P LNl.Si- JVMte Iriars. "I^Lve thefe Books : fpr the. founding cf a. College. i?i ihts Colonf 3 9002 00983 6926 Date Due All books are subject to recall after two weeks.