Mr.Powys. Mr. Yonge. with the Methuen treaty, and that he had every reason t believe it would be happily and fpeedily terminated. Mr Pitt now pointed out the happy circumftance of our confti tution which gave the negotiation and conclufion of treatie to the prerogative of the Crown, and the revifion, judge ment, and execution of them to the privileges of the People He asked whether it was right, in the midst of a negotiation fo circumftanced, for an Houfe of Commons to interfere by a refolution tending to embarrafs, difturb, and delay the mode of negotiation, which the executive power, who had all the refponfibility, had chofen for themfelves,, and whether it was ferving or ftrengthening the hands of Government, or confirming, or questioning their ability, in the most unprecedented manner, and thus deftroying that power and energy, which, under fuch circumftances, from confiderations of public good, ought not at any rate to be weakened? The Chancellor of the Exchequer repeated his declaration of a former evening, that he had every reafon to expect the negotiation with Portugal would prove fuccefsful; if, however, it fhould not, and it fhould fail, in either cafe he would come to the Houfe, and in one of the two fituations would move a refolution to lower the duties on Portugal wines one third below the duties on French wines; in the other, he would lay before the Houfe the grounds on which Administration confidered the Court of Lifbon as no longer willing to comply with the Methuen treaty, and their reafons for moving to alter the fituation of the two countries as far as regarded the import duties on Portugal wines. The only ground on which the right honourable mover of the inftruction had argued, was a fallacy, inafmuch as the refolution relative to the future duties to be paid on the importation of the wines of France, and the future duties to be paid on the importation of the wines of Portugal, were diftinct and separate confiderations, and not implicated concerns. Above all things, he fhould contend, that the motion of the right honourable gentleman held out to Portugal an active measure in her favour, which it might ultimately be right to. vote, but, which, if voted before the bill, to be grounded on the refolutions of the Committee, muft be premature. Mr. Pouys touched upon fome of the principal points of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's arguments; but, ended with admitting, that the executive Government had a right to expect the credit and confidence of Parliament pending a ne gociation, or any other executive act, conftitutionally vested in that branch of the Legislature. Mr. Yonge contended that a lefs wife and able man than Mr. Methuen could have made the treaty of 1703. He allo explained a few words in that treaty, which he conceived the honourable honourable Baronet (Sir Grey Cooper) had mistaken, and ftrenuously infifted that the motion was an improper interference with the executive Government, which could not but weaken the hands of Minifters, if carried, and operate as a tacit declaration that they were unfit for their offices. Mr. Sheridan affirmed that the Houfe of Commons was Mr. Shericonftitutionally empowered to interfere with treaties, even dan. pending their negociation. There were treaties over which the prerogative was paramount; there were treaties also of another defcription, with which the Houfe was particularly concerned, the execution of them depended folely on the voice of the House of Commons. He added that the motion of his right honourable Friend (Mr. Fox) was not an active measure in favour of Portugal; it was a point of right due to the Methuen treaty, and merely a motion to do that immediately, which the right honourable gentleman had pledged himself to do (granting that he would do it at all) previously to the bill or bills going out of the House. Mr. Fox declared that he would not take the fenfe of the Mr. Fox. Houfe, as the right honourable gentleman had put the matter upon fuch an iffue. The right honourable gentleman had rested on an affertion, but no argument. The right honourable gentleman (the House would remember) was responsible, not for the fuccefs of the measure, as that no man could anfwer for, but for any unfortunate turn which the treaty might take in confequence of the mode of negociation which the right honourable gentleman, as a minifter, had thought proper to chufe. Mr. Fox defended his motion, and denied that it would have embarraffed Government; on the contrary, he contended that it would have been a good ground for Government to have acted upon. He by no means confented to admit that his motion was an active measure in favour of Portugal, and beyond what fhe had a juft right to expect. It was exactly the reverse; and to prove the argument, he would again put the cafe, that if the Queen of Portugal fhould have iffued an edict prohibiting the export of our woollens, he fhould have thought that he had acted unfairly by Great Britain. Mr. Chancellor Pitt accepted the refponfibility which he Mr. Chan acknowledged the right honourable gentleman had fairly put cellor Pitt. on him. He was not answerable for the fuccefs of the meafure; but fo far anfwerable, that if it failed, he was bound to come down and ftate fufficient reafons to convince the House, that it had not failed through any fault of Government. He was happy to find that the right honourable gentleman, without a divifion, gave up a motion, which he had introduced with fuch an air of importance. It proved the right honourable gentleman's fenfe of the opinion of the Houte. Mr. Fox. Mr. Chan Mr. Fox denied this, and repelled what had been faid of hi relinquishment of the motion. So far from his giving it up to real argument, he had given way to an affèrtion never before ufed as an argument in fo ftrange a manner. The expreffions of a difference of opinion concerning the words used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer took place which occupied about ten minutes, during which Mr. Fox and Mr. Pitt were feverally twice up. At length the motion was put and negatived without a divifion. As foon as Mr. Fox's motion was difpofed of, the Speaker put the question, "that he do then leave the chair," which being agreed to, the House refolved itself into a Committee upon the confideration of that part of His Majesty's fpeech which referred to the treaty of navigation and commerce. (Mr. Beaufoy in the chair.) Mr. Chancellor Pitt rose with a ftring of refolutions in his cellor Pitt. hand, each referring to a feparate fpecies of goods and merchandize stated in the tariff, contained in the fixth article of the treaty, and began with moving the refolution relative to vinegars, which paffed without objection. Mr. Fox. Mr. Chan The next refolution, referring to Brandies, occafioned a fhort converfation. Mr. Fox defired to know, whether at the time that the duties on brandies were meant to be reduced, it was not intended to accompany the alteration with a reduction in the duties on Rums? Mr. Chancellor Pitt anfwered that the refolution declared cellor Pitt. it to be the opinion of the Committee, that the duties on brandies fhould not exceed feven fhillings per gallon, and he had it in contemplation to make a fmall reduction (3d. per gallon) in the prefent duties on rums, which would bring the duties on the two articles of brandy and rum to bear exactly the fame relation to each other in point of proportion, that they bore at the year 1778. Mr. Pitt explained what other duties had been fince impofed, and faid, he intended, at an early day, to propose a still greater reduction on brandies, and other fpirits, from certain confiderations of revenue, and with a view to extend the fyftem fo happily and fuccefsfully commenced three years fince, to the great prevention and abolition of fmuggling. He added, that he meant in the Committee merely to move the refolutions which were neceffary to be moved as the ground-work of the bill, which muft of course be brought in, after the House should have agreed to the report; gentlemen, therefore, would either debate them as they were moved, or upon the reading of the report, or upon any ftage of the proceeding to which they might give the preference. Mr. Sheridan. Mr. Sheridan obferved, that at length, and confequently for the first time, the right honourable gentleman had con felfed feffed, that his much-boafted commutation bill had failed him. The right honourable gentleman had made it one great ground of exultation upon his affurances of the fuccefs of the meafure, that it would entirely put an end to the fmuggling of brandies. The Committee would recollect, that he (Mr. Sheridan) had on frequent occafions told the right honourable gentleman, that a day would come when he muft experience the unavoidable obligation of confeffing that the measure had failed, and that all which he foretold had been verified. Mr. Chancellor Pitt faid that he wondered which he ought Mr. Chanmoft to admire, the confidence or the ignorance of the ho- cellor Pitt. nourable gentleman's affertions. Could any man in his fenfes have believed, that such a speech as the honourable gentleman had juft delivered, could have been excited by any thing which had fallen from him. Had he uttered any expreffions like what the honourable gentleman had thought fit to impute to him? much lefs had he, when he propofed the commutation bill originally, afferted, that, among other effects of the bill, it would entirely put a stop to the smuggling of brandies. So improbable an effect he had never been weak enough to flatter himself with the expectation of, and every one muft know that no man of common fenfe could have erred fo egregiously. As to the words he had made ufe of, when he introduced the bill, that was a question of memory between the honourable gentleman and hiin, and must be left to the House to decide; but as far as his memory ferved him, he was fufficiently confident of his recollection, flatly to deny the words which the honourable gentleman had imputed to him. With regard to his idea of extending the fyftem to brondies, it was not on that day that he had first mentioned it to the House. He had mentioned it fo long ago as the laft feffion, when gentlemen might remember that he had talked of extending the plan to brandies and other fpirits, but the previous alteration of duties on brandies being fo intimately connected with the treaty of navigation and commerce with France, he neceffarily waited till he had an opportunity of fubmitting the whole of the confideration at once to the House. Mr. Sheridan observed that if he had entertained the smallest Mr. Sheridoubt of the correctness of his recollection before, he was now dan. convinced he had been perfectly correct from the right honourable gentleman's being fo very angry. He begged leave, however, to remind the right honourable gentleman that it was not altogether decent for a Minifter to address any member of that House in fuch language; it was, befides, extremely ill judged of any gentleman to defcend to it, because it laid him open to so easy a retort. All the return which he should make was by declaring (what he was perfuaded the majority of the Committee muft feel with him) that the ill manners of the Mr. Chan right honourable gentleman were not more confpicuous than the weakness of his conduct in charging him with confidence and ignorance without a fingle argument to prove the foundation of any fuch charge: having faid this, Mr. Sheridan declared, that the Committee were no ftrangers to the practice of the right honourable gentleman, when any member fhewed that his words on a former occafion, and his fubfequent conduct, were at variance with each other. On the prefent occafion the right honourable gentleman had endeavoured to fhift the charge by the quibble of a word, and had confidently maintained that he never faid, the commutation plan would entirely put a stop to the fmuggling in brandy. He would not, Mr. Sheridan faid, take upon him to affert that the right honourable gentleman had used the word entirely; but he appealed to the recollection of every gentleman who heard him, whether he had not almoft as often as he had talked of the advantages expected to arife from the commutation fyftem, refted a great part of his argument on his entertaining little or no doubt of its having the good effects of putting an end to the fmuggling of brandy in a very great degree; or words to that effect. Mr. Sheridan afked, whether it was likely that the right honourable gentleman fhould have confined his argument entirely to the prevention of fmuggling of teas, and whether the abandoning of 700,000l. of the revenue merely with that view, would not have been a very weak fcheme? Mr. Sheridan added a few comments upon the propofition refpecting brandies now hinted, and faid, moft undoubtedly, if the right honourable gentleman were to go from one article of excife to another and commute, the duties on fmuggling would be put an end to refpecting thofe articles; but a day muft in that cafe arrive, when the Minifter who pursued fuch a fyftem would have to come to that House, and to afk them to provide for a good round deficiency of re venue. Mr. Chancellor Pitt replied, and perfifted in his former cellor Pitt. declaration, that he had neither dreamt of the commutation act having the effect of entirely putting a ftop to the smuggling of brandy, nor had ever made fuch affertion; that he might have ftated his expectations of the act's having a collateral effect on the fmuggling of fpirits at the fame time, which could not fail to put an end as it were to the fmuggling of tea, was very poffible; but as to having gone to the length of the words imputed to him by the right honourable gentleman, or any thing like it, that he must flatly deny, and repel the infinuation. Mr. Sheridan. Mr. Sheridan reftated his charge, adding, that not only the right honourable the Chancellor of his Majesty's Exche quer, |