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dress, if voted, would be premature and imperfect, and therefore improper to be carried to the House, in order to rescue that Houfe from the aukward and embarraffed fituation in which they would ftand, were they thus irregularly. to proceed; Mr. Ellis moved the previous queftion on the addrefs.

Mr. D. Pulteney remarked that, rifing, he was not impel- Mr. D. Pulled by any prefumptuous inclination whatfoever, either to tency. contend against the honourable gentleman (Mr. Ellis) in age, abilities, or experience; or to offer any naval answer to the honourable gentleman who preceded him. He conceived the doubts of one honourable gentleman were done away by the fanction which the addrefs had received from the Chair; and that with refpect to the latter, if the treaty contained principles fo manifeftly injurious to the navy, it fhould never have received fuch unreferved approbation from the honourable gentleman who had feconded the address; a gentleman who was an equal credit to his profeffion, and to the county which he reprefented in that Houfe. He would therefore plainly and fhortly proceed to the merits of the original queftion; and in the firft place, he could not pafs over the filence of the manufacturers themfelves, which he confidered as a ftrong fpecies of mute eloquence in favour of the measure; but the House of Commons would neither be controlled at any time by their groundless jealoufies, nor acquiefce implicitly in their filence. The caufe was then in the hands of its legal and inquifitive guardians, and that cause had been fully difcuffed by thofe who could have. no poffible intereft diftinct from the great counties or manufactories which they were appointed to reprefent.

Apprehenfions had been fuggefted in the House respecting the cottons: he had heard that the lofs of the cotton wool from the Brazils, and of that received through Flanders and Germany, might be exceedingly injurious to the manufacture. He much doubted the policy of fuch fuggeftions in that House; but he had the fatisfaction to fay, that he had likewife heard great commercial authorities in the Houfe point out new fources of fupply to replace fuch imaginary failures: he knew himself that the cheapness of the material was no certain affurance of cheapnefs in the manufacture; that when the cotton wool was much lower in France than in England, he had seen the Manchester goods worn in Normandy within a few miles of the principal manufactory of that country, fupported by occafional bounties; yet thefe goods had forced their way through Jersey to Grandeville, and other towns on the coaft, in fpite of the expences of freight and the rifque of illicit commerce.With refpect to woollens; till the foil of France was fo VOL. XXI.

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altered

altered by the hand of nature herself as to produce the raw material equal to our own, this was an article of produce as peculiar to England as the wines and brandies were peculiar to France; nor could the very fineft cloths (a trifling part of the general manufacture) though curiofity and caprice might afford them a temporary introduction, long oppofe with fuccefs their flimfy materials or fuperficial glofs to the more perfect and durable productions of the English loom. The articles of fadlery, of pottery, and of hardware were equally articles of English produce as long as the bark, the clay, and the coal were the productions of the English foil, in which we knew not of any rival. Mr. Pulteney then alluded to a fuggeftion from Mr. Fox respecting the danger to the beer, and concluded this part of his argument by quoting an old remark of Sir Robert Walpole, "that the landed intereft refembled a fheep, whom he "could fheer at any time, and it gave him a rich fleece "in filence; but that the trading intereft refembled a more "unruly animal, on whom if he laid his hand, though it was only to feel and improve his condition, much more "if he attempted to pluck from it a fingle briftle, it raised "fuch a grunting and outcry as to alarm the whole neigh"bourhood." Mr. Pulteney faid, he prefumed to make no fuch comparison; this however he might be allowed to fay, that body of men were at least never diftinguished for inattention to their concerns, yet they had raised no outcry on this occafion; he knew of no pretence for any outcry; he was convinced in his confcience, from all which he had heard on the subject, he was, in approving the address, giving the moft beneficial vote to the trade of this country he ever should have to give within those walls. With respect to the political part of the question, a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox) had argued it with his ufual dexterity and eloquence; yet, though he agreed with him in many of his premifes, he was no convert to his conclufions. That France was the natural enemy, or to speak more gently, the rival of this country, he was ready to allow he must be a novice indeed in hiftory, even of the laft ten years, who did not readily fubfcribe to fuch a pofition; he allowed that we ought to be jealous of all her measures, and prepared against the most wanton display of her ambition; but how were we to be prepared? by cultivating our commerce, that principal and main finew of our national ftrength, which had hitherto been our fupport, and had enabled us to foil that ambitious power in fo many campaigns. Gentlemen had reverted to the prevailing principles of the House at the Peace of Utrecht, and during the reign of the Stuarts; but granting that thofe principles were wife in that day, he contended

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contended that the oppofite principles were become equally wife in the prefent: many reasons for fuch his opinion were of too delicate a nature for public difcuffion, but one at leaft was too notorious. The fuperiority of commercial and manufacturing skill had, fince those days, fhifted from that country to this. Were we to carry on no intercourse but with our natural friends? Was America our unalienable ally? Were the northern powers who formed the armed neutrality? Was Portugal our affured friend, who captiously cavilled at the Methuen treaty and rejected the Irish woollens in the moment of our greatest embarrassment and dif- ́ trefs? Yet he contended, that it was the policy of this coun try to cultivate an intercourse with each of thefe powers; it was our policy to cultivate a trade with France herself, if fach trade could be conducted to the fame ends; an encouragement of our induftry, an extenfion of our credit, an employment of our capital, and, above all, a fupply to our navy. With refpect to the motion offered by the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox) in the Committee, for reducing the Portugal wines, he regretted not being able to attend its difcuffion, but he must at firft fight condemn it, as a measure which, would take from Minifters their refponfibility, and difarm the executive government during the pendeney of a negotiation; but with regard to the conduct of that kingdom, fhe might injure Britain, but fhe would ruin herfelf: fhe night, perhaps occafion a temporary embarraffinent to some of our manufactures, but if fhe rejected the offers of a friend who had fhewn fo many marks of fincerity and affection, fhe muft in quitting that friend bury herself in the arms of her antient tyrant and inveterate oppreffor. Mr. Pulteney alluded to Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Flood for affuming the language of Irish ambaffadors during the difcuffions of the treaty, and running a race for Irish popularity in that House; he added fome compliments to the kingdom and the administration of Ireland; and concluded by declaring that he fhould vote for the addrefs as originally propofed, and of course against the previous quef

tion.

Mr. Brandlyn commended the general principles of the Mr. Brandtreaty in favour of commerce, policy, and revenue. From lyn. every inquiry which he had made on the fubject, and every confideration which he had given to its nature and tendency, he was affured the refult would be the ultimate and general intereft of the trade and manufactures of the country: from this impreffion he gave his fupport to the motion.

Mr. Sheridan obferved, that for the present he should Mr. Sheri wave all investigation of the general argument of the me- dan. rits of the treaty, as he conceived the queftion before the

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Houfe

Houfe refpecting the addrefs related to a measure fo violent, fo unprecedented, and fo unparliamentary, that no other ground of oppofition ought on that day to be taken, except to the irregularity and foulnefs of fuch a proceeding. There was however an observation or two which had fallen from the honourable gentleman who had juft fat down, which he could not be wholly filent under, though he regarded thofe obfervations as merely among the trivial endeavours which the honourable gentleman had reforted to, in order to divert more fuccefsfully the attention of the Houfe from the weighty fuggeftions which they had just heard from the honourable gentleman who had moved the previous queftion. For this purpose the honourable gentleman was, undoubtedly, in the right to propofe any object to gentlemen's confideration, excepting the point immediately before them, to talk to them as a wool-comber, as a navigator, as a potter or a philofopher, or in any character but that of a member of the Houfe of Commons, anxious for the credit and dignity of Parliament, and attentive to the prefervation of thofe conftitutional forms which were the beft fecurity for its privileges, and which were then, in fact, the only fubject in debate. The fingle part of his digreffions in which he would follow the honourable gentleman, was the infinuation he had thrown upon his motives, in having introduced Ireland as an object infeparably connected with the difcuffion of the prefent treaty. Mr. Sheridan defended his conduct in this refpect, and commented on the expreffions of another member, (Mr. Hawkins Browne) who had faid, that Ireland could not expect the fame conceffion as France from this country, because fhe had nothing to give in return; and concluded with a declaration, that it was his intention to bring this fubject regularly before the House, when an opportunity would be afforded to gentlemen to fupport their infinuations by argument if they could, or a neceffity to retract them upon conviction of their error. With regard to the honourable gentleman's allufion to his being a felf-appointed reprefentative for Ireland, he fhould only fay, that he trufted fome credit would be given to his acting independently of the influence of fuch a nomination; otherwife he muft obferve that it was a fortunate circum. ftance, that if the kingdom of Ireland had a representative in the British Parliament, the Lord Lieutenant was poffeffed of the fame privilege; and he trufted that it would no more be fufpected that he was influenced by prejudices in favour of the country he reprefented, than that the honourable gentleman was directed by a fervile acquiefcence with the opinion of his noble conftituent. Mr. Sheridan then entered into the original argument which had been first suggested by

him to the House, relative to the irregularity of propofing fuch an addrefs as that which was defired to be voted, enlarging upon his former arguments, and declared that the real queftion was not, whether the French treaty was defirable or otherwife, but whether the vital and effential privileges of Parliament, connected with their deliberative and legislative capacity, fhould be facrificed as a mere matter of compliment at the foot of the throne.

Mr. Burke contended, that the opinions of the manufac- Mr. Burke, turers of two counties, however extensive and commercial, fhould not be taken for the fenfe of the people of England; and that every perfon must be aware of the difpofition of traders to fnatch, at all events, at any immediate advan-, tage. With regard to the conduct of this country towards Ireland, he thought that every means fhould be used to draw together the bonds of union, and not to feparate them by illiberal jealousy and revolting expreffions. There was, indeed, one fovereign to the two kingdoms; and they spoke the fame language; but that was not fufficient to keep them. together without mutual confidence and a reciprocal exchange of good offices. He had heard nothing, for fome time paft, but panegyrics on the French-while our tongues were let loofe in the fouleft afperity against other states.Ireland was an infatuated ifland-Portugal an unnatural, a base, a worthless, an ungrateful nation. We cling to France in proportion as we feparate ourselves from all other ftates. But what are our panegyrics on the French? Do we commend them for their gallantry, their valour, their ingenuity, their power, their opulence, their policy, their wit? No. We praise them for their fincerity, their forbearance, their moderation, their truth, their kindness and good-will to this country! And we have taken a twelve years lease of all thefe good qualities. France, it has been obferved, is a wife nation and it is to be hoped that we are also a wife nation. But if this be the case, we have been a very unwife, a very foolish nation for near a century, to refuse conftantly what, in our prefent fit of wisdom, we give up to France: not that he meant to fay, we give up our manufactures to the French-on that head, he was ready to declare that he had no jealoufy; nor did he conceive that France could, for a confiderable time at leaft, rival our manufactures. On the contrary, he was affured that in various branches there were large orders from France, while, comparatively speaking, there were few, excepting in the article of wines, from Great Britain. Our capital gave us a fuperiority which enabled us to fet all the efforts of France to rival our manufactures at defiance: the powers of capital were irresistible in trade; it domineered, it ruled, it even

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