Mr. Chan. cellor Pitt. Mr. Fox. Mr. Chan Mr. Chancellor Pitt wished to have it understood that he gave his affent on the condition the order should be farthe difcharged, provided it fhould happen that the business in which the House had been for two days engaged, and which related to the commercial treaty with France, fhould not be finifhed by Thursday. Mr. Fox defired the right honourable gentleman to explain what he meant by the bufinefs, and how far the idea extended. Mr. Chancellor Pitt answered, that he meant that all the cellor Pitt. refolutions to be moved fhould have paffed the Committee, been reported and agreed to by the House previous to any interruption from other public business. Mr. Sheri dan. Mr. Pelham. Mr. Duadas. Mr. Pelham. Mr. Chan cellor Pitt. Mr. Fox. Mr. Sheridan contended, that the charges against Mr. Haftings were undoubtedly matters of infinite ferioufnefs and importance, and ought not to be fet afide as fecondary confiderations. He begged the Houfe to recollect, that fomething was due from them to Mr. Haftings, whose character, and whatfoever could prove dear to him, was at stake, and whofe feelings therefore ought not to be fported with by wanton and unneceffary delay. Mr. Pelham moved," "That Sir Elijah Impey and Mr. "Middleton do attend the Committee on Tuesday next." Mr. Dundas obferved, that if any ferious procedure was defigned to take place against Sir Elijah Impey, the House ought to be informed of its nature before their confent to any fuch motion was expected. Mr. P.lham replied, that a very ferious proceeding was intended against Sir Elijah; but he wanted the attendance of Sir Elijah and Mr. Middleton on Tuesday, merely to ask them fome neceffary queftions relative to, the revolutions in Farruckabad. Mr. Chancellor Pitt faid, he believed fo; but that he, for one, had but very few questions to put to them. The order for the attendance of Sir Elijah and Mr. Middleton was agreed to. The order of the day being read for the Houfe to refolve itself into a Commiittee of the whole Houfe, to confider farther of fo much of His Majefty's most gracious fpeech to both Houses of Parliament, upon the 23d day of January last, as relates to the treaty of navigation and commerce between His Majefty and the Moft Chriftian King ; Mr. Fox remarked, that he was now refolved to fubmit to the investigation of the Houfe the question which, on the preceding evening, he had been prevented from introducing, in a manner much more extraordinary than any intetruption which, during the eighteen years of his having enjoyed a feat in Parliament, he recollected to have experienced. 2 enced. If he might take the liberty of preffing his own opinion upon the Houfe, he fhould unequivocally declare, that with this particularly important queftion their reputation and their dignity were clofely interwoven. The question was at the fame time fo intimately connected with that part of the treaty with France then under deliberation, that it was impoffible to pafs it by, and not to come to its confideration, without manifefting a difregard to Portugal little fhort of a direct affront. He had been much blamed in the debate of the preceding day, and defcribed as a person peculiarly fond of talking of alliances with foreign courts, of treaties, and of negociations; that he was addicted to fall into that vein of debate, unless when it was neceffarily and unavoidably connected with his fubject, he was not himself aware, nor did he believe that this was really the fact; but how fubjects, in which negociations, treaties and alliances with foreign courts were involved, and with which those matters were infeparably connected, could be properly, or rather could be at all difcuffed without a reference to thofe topics, he was at a loss to conjecture, unless that House were to take the advice given by an honourable gentleman, and no longer to confider themselves as politicians: that advice not happening to fuit with his notion of the duty of a member of Parliament, he, for one, muft be excufed if he continued to think, that it became him, and every gentleman entitled. to a feat within those walls, to confider himself as a politi cian, and to direct his opinions accordingly. He had thought it neceffary to premife thus much, because he was afraid that he muft now, once more, incur the cenfure which had been caft on him the day before, and again make mention of those topics which it had been faid he was too much inclined to talk upon. The fubject to which he meant to draw the attention of the Houfe was the referve made in the seventh article of the treaty of navigation and commerce with France in favour of our connection with Portugal under the Methuen treaty. The Committee had the preceding night come to a refolution to lower the duties on the wines of France." on importation into this country; it appeared to him then to be highly and indifpenfably neceffary, that the fecond part. of that refolution fhould be a refolution to lower the wines of Portugal to that reduction at which they were intended to ftand, provided the Methuen treaty was to continue and things to go on as they had done from the time of concluding that treaty in the year 1703. Mr. Fox directed all his arguments to prove the indifpenfable neceffity that he had ftated, and to convince the House, that if they did not come to the resolution then, they indicated a negligence refpecting the continuance of the connection of the two kingdoms under the Methuen treaty, and an indifference to the commercia benefit thence derived reciprocally to both countries. He profeffed himself aware that it had been contended that the Methuen treaty bound Portugal only, and that it was optional in Great Britain to take the wines of Portugal or not = this he knew others contradicted, and maintained that we were bound to take the wines of Portugal on low duties, as much as Portugal was bound to admit our woollen cloths. But in whichever point of view it was confidered, the advantages of the Methuen treaty had been fo great, that we fhould act in the moft unwife and impolitic manner, if we did not take every step on our part to convince Portugal that we were defirous of continuing the connection.-He had never been fond of that mode of arguing which deemed exports a gain and imports a lofs; but admitting for the moment and for the fake of argument that this was the true way of judging, in the cafe of Portugal the argument fo managed was ftrong in favour of our adhering to the Methuen treaty. Our imports from Portugal confifted of brazil, cotton, of oil, of dying drugs, of falt to falt our fifh with, and of other articles without which we could not poffibly contrive to ga on as a commercial country; if therefore imports were a lofs, they were a lofs in this particular that we could not poflibly do without fuftaining. If our connection with Portugal was put a stop to, we must go and purchase our lofs at another market; for the articles of our imports from Portugal, as he had before ftated, were what we must at any rate procure. On the other hand, our export trade to Portugal was a most valuable trade: it amounted to near a million annually, and was otherwife precious to us, because the commodities now exported to Portugal were faleable in no other market. The Portuguefe, he underitood, took from us the whole produce of a woollen manufacture in Yorkshire; he knew not the name of the cloths, but it was an undeniable fact, that the confumption of Portugal was equal to the whole produce of the manufactory in question, and that the woollens were faleable no where elfe. This then alone was an important confideration; but added to this, Portugal annually bought a very confiderable quantity of falt fish, another commodity for the fale of which we could find no other market. Formerly there was another very confiderable export, an export of corn to Portugal, but that had lately dwindled to nothing, which be imputed to our increased home confumption. He was aware, that the falt fith carried to Portugal was conveyed thither not under any agreement or ftipulation in the Methuen treaty, but under the conditions of anterior treaties, and therefore it might be fair to tuppofe that if the Methuen treaty was put an end to, we ftill had a right to expect that the faith of anterior treaties fhould be complied with. He entered here, however, into a series of arguments, to fhew the poffibility of the putting an end to the Methuen treaty being confidered by Portugal as a feparation in toto from all connection in this country, taking care to guard this doctrine by an explicit declaration that Portugal had derived fuch advantages from her connection with Great Britain, and must neceffarily be fo ferious a lofer, by giving up all pretence to her protection, that if, by a lamentable ftate of perverfenefs, or the influence of bad adyice, fhe fhould be induced to break all connection with us, and risk her safety in the best bargain fhe could make with her neighbouring continental powers, fhe would do the moft rafh, most unadvised, and the moft abfurd act that ever a country, fituated like Portugal, could commit. At the fame time' it was to be remembered, that greatly as the balance of advantage derived from the connection under the Methuen treaty, was in favour of Portugal, Great Britain. would feel no inconfiderable inconvenience from the lofs even of fuch an ally as Portugal. What our commercial difadvantage would be, he had stated in enumerating the fpecies, and mentioning the value of our exports to Portugal. Our political difadvantage might alfo be ferious. In cafe of a war with the Houfe of Bourbon, we should feel (perhaps feverely feel) the want of fome friendly port from Gottenburgh, now a French port, down to Gibraltar. These were not ideal inconveniencies, and rafh as it would be in Portugal, to put us into fuch a fituation, we could not but thence lament the lofs of fuch an ally. Again muft he repeat, and prefs moft earnestly upon the confideration of the Houfe, that all the too fanguine fupporters of the treaty fhould confider the relative fituation of England and Portugal. For near a century back, an alliance of mutual, though he would not fay of equal convenience, had fubfifted between them. The connection, he was ready to acknowledge, was more neceffary to Portugal than it was to England, confidered in a political point of view. She allowed us great commercial advantages in return for protection. Such is the condition, and fuch the politics of the European potentates, that the weaker ftates muft court the alliance of the more powerful. Now was it not highly probable, that our conduct might induce the Portuguese to refect that they are near neighbours to Spain, and that they are no longer natural enemies; that nature intended them to fupply each other's wants, and to exchange commodities for their reciprocal benefit? This, at leaft, might as well be faid of Portugal and Spain, as of France and England; and might induce Portugal blindly to throw herfelf into the arms of of Spain, and to add her balance to the already predonderating weight of the Houfe of Bourbon. Thus fhould we not only lofe the benefits we may derive from an alliance with Portugal, but have her in the scale against us. Nothing could more tend to exafperate, and move her to act in this manner, than the prefent conduct of Minifters. The pride and dignity of Portugal, as an independent kingdom, had been wounded by them. No perfon in this House was more an advocate for acting with vigour towards foreign states than he was; but he confeffed that he thought this rigid tone might be affumed with more honour and justice towards other states than Portugal. Not long ago we were blamed by all Europe for our infolence; and he was forry to find, that we fhould not be acquitted of the exercife of that vice, but merely commended for our crcumfpection, towards whom we put it in practice. If we thought proper to retain our ftile of haughtiness, it ought to be our old rivals and equals in power that we should talk to in that manner, and not to a fubordinate and, in refpect to us, a very defenceless people; that was far from being the conduct or the principle of a brave and generous nation. Mr. Fox contended, that if the Houfe did not inftruct the Committee to come to an immediate refolution," that the "duties on the wines of Portugal fhould be lowered one "third," they, in fact, broke the Methuen treaty, or at least departed from its fpirit and meaning-intimated to Portugal a ground of doubt as to their intention of not ultimately complying with the Methuen treaty, and, in fact, for the moment paid France a compliment at the expence of Portugal, by holding it out to all the world, that during the courfe of their proceedings France was preferred, and her interefts first attended to. Suppofe, faid Mr. Fox, that the Queen of Portugal were to publifh an edict, prohibiting the importation of our woollens into her dominions, would this country think that an handsome thing towards them, or that it dignified their ground for renewing a negotiation? In like manner let them feel for Portugal; if the Methuen treaty be not recognized without delay, it is virtually broken, because the duties on the wines of Portugal (as far as the ultimate intention of the legiflature is to he collected from a refolution of the House of Commons) appear to ftand on the fame footing as the duties on the wines of France; and if they actually were left to ftand on that footing, every gentleman knows it would be a direct violation of the Methuen treaty and great indeed was the difference between' recognizing the condition of the Methuen treaty primarily and fecondarily, or in other words, by a refolution antecedent to the fending the bill (to be brought in upon the refolutions come to in the Com mittee) |