fhould neglect to confider the application of the treaty to themselves, while they wandered into the paths of legiflation and government, did not look like that apprehenfion for their real interefts, which they betrayed at the time of the Irish propontions.

Mr. Pitt proceeded to confider the treaty in its political view; and here his mind revolted from the fuppofition, that any nation could be unalterably the enemy of another. It had no foundation in the experience of nations or the history of men. It was a libel on the conftitution of political focieties, and fuppofed the existence of diabolical malice in our original frame. But this abfurd tenet was now adopted; and it was added, that by this treaty the British nation was about blindly to throw itfelf into the arms of its conflant and uniform foe, What ground was there for this reafoning? Would the treaty deprive us of our natural watchfulnefs or our accustomed ftrength? On the contrary, as it would enrich the nation, it would alfo prove the means of enabling her to combat her enemy with more effect, when the day of hoftility fhould come. It did more than this. By promoting habits of friendly intercourfe and mutual benefit, while it invigorated the refources of Britain, it made it lefs likely, that fhe fhould have occation to call forth thofe refources. That we fhould be taken unprepared for war was a matter totally diftinct from this treaty. It depended in no degree upon that circumftance, but fimply upon the watchfulness and ability of the exiting adminiftration. Mr. Pitt acknowleged, that France had been the aggreffor in moft of our wars; but added, that her affur ances and frankness during the pre

fent negociation were fuch, as in his opinion entitled her to fome confidence. When he recollected the whole of the late dreadful war, he could deduce arguments from it, to reconcile the prefent conduct of France with more equitable and candid principles of policy, than oppofition was willing to allow, When the perceived, that in that arduous conteft, in which it might truly be faid that we were ftrugg ling for our existence, we not only faved our honour, but manifested the folid, he might almost be tempt ed to fay, the inexhaustible re. fources of the land; reflecting, that, though he had gained her object in difmembering our empire, the had done it at an expence which had funk her in the extremeft em barraffment, might it not be believ ed, that he would eagerly with to try the benefits of an amicable con⚫ nection with us? It was ridiculous to imagine, that the French would confent to yield advantages without the idea of a return. The treaty would be a benefit to them; but he did not hesitate to deliver his firm opinion, in the eyes of France, and during the pendency of the business, that, though advantageous to her, it would be more fo to us. She gained for her wines and her other productions a great and opulent market; we did the fame to a much greater degree. She procured a market of eight millions of people; we a market of twenty-four millions. France gained this market for her produce, which employed few hands in the preparation, gave little encouragement to navigation, and af forded little to the state. We gained this market for our manufac tures, which employed many hun dred thousand of our countrymen; which, in collecting the materials from every corner of the world, adD. 3

vanced

54

vanced our maritime ftrength, and in every artile and flage or its progrefs contribute largely to the State France could not gain the acceffion of 100,ocol. to her revenue; England must neceffarily gain 1,000,col. The high price of labour in England arofe chiefly from the excife; and three fifths of the price of labour were faid to come into the exchequer. Even the reduced duties were proportion ably fo high, that France could not fend us 500,000l. value of brandies, but we muit gain cent per cent by the article. It was in the nature and eflence of an agreement between a manufacturing country, and a country bloffed with peculiar productions, that the advantages muft terminate in favour of the former, Bu both of them were par. ticularly difpofed and prepared for the connection. France by the peculiar difpenfation of providence was gifted, perhaps more than any other count y upon earth, with what made life defirable, in point of foil, climate, and natural productions; in the moft fe tile vineyards and the richest hary is.

Britain

was not thus bleffed by nature; but, poffeffing the happy freedom of its conftitution, and the equal fecurity of its laws, it had rifen to a ftare of commercial grandeur, and a quired the ability of fupplying its new hbour with the requifite embellishments of life, in exchange for her natural luxuries.

The perfons who principally undertook to anfwer te arguments of Mr. Pitt, were Mr. Fox and Mr. Francis; and, though the fpeech of Mr. Fox was unquestionably most replete with forcible argument, with an intimate knowlege of his fubject, and with bilJiant flashes of eloquence, yet are we reduced to the neceflity, as it

frequently happens to the hiftorian, of dwelling chiefly upon the arguments of Mr. Francis, because that gentleman was at the pains of preferving his very able and judicious harangue through the medium of the press. He difuffed the merits of the treaty with France under four heads: as it related to commerce, to revenue, to the naval and the political interests of this coun▾ try.

What he faw up the face of the treaty was dangerous and deftructive to its profelted object; but its real and infallible tendency ftruck him with the highest fupicion, jealoufy and terror. The favourite argument in favour of an open trade with France was founded on a general prefumption, that our manufacturers poffeffed a greater fkill in the execution and finish. ing of whatever they undertook ; as if there were fome hing in the nature of our Gallic neighbours, fome difficulty inherent in their climate or conftitution, which rendered them incapable of arriving at a fimilar fkill.' The examples, which had been infifted on, of our woollen and cot on manufactures, appered to Mr. Francis to be unfortunately selected. France was in poffeffion of the Spanish wool, could import it on terms infinitely easier than we could, and might by her influence exclude us from any fare of it, whenever fhe faw fit. In fact the French had improved their manufacture of cloth to fuch a perfection, that they had beaten our Turkey company out of the market which we formerly had in the Levant for that article, and had engroffed it to themfelves. The propofition therefore, which affirmed, that we fhould find a market in France itfelf, greater than that of Portugal and all her colo

nies, was not only unfupported by proof, but was abfolutely abfurd.

With respect to the contraband trade, which the treats profeffed to annihilate, it in reality effected the very reverfe. It abolished the hovering at, hitherto underfood to be the principal detence of the reve ue, and fecurity to the fair trader. French vefiels of any fize or conftruction might now approach and fail along our coaft at any diftance they thought proper, and remain as long as they pleafed. As the law ftood at prefent, on a difcovery of any contraband goods, the fhip and cargo were forfeited; but by this treaty nothing, but the fpecific article prohibited, was liable to confifcation. As to the mere exportation and fale of our manufactures, conlid red by felf, and abstractedly from the protection due to the fair trader, and the care of the revenue, it was nearly the fame thing to any country, whether the exportation were priormed by law ful or unlawful mean The amount of the goods now finuggled, was to be fet against the future exportation, and our real gain confifted only in the difference between them. The improvement of the revenue by the fuppreffion of fmuggling was an object of great utility. But here Mr. Francis faw caufe for fufpicion and diftruit, whether the intention to purfue that object was fincere. The obfervations of Mr. Pit on the fubject of cambrics were well founded; but why was the operation of fo juft a principle to be confined to cambric For what reafon was the prohibition of French laces continued? A reafon had been fuggefted for this inconfiftent conduct, in the partiality of the minifter to the manufacturers of Buckinghamshire. At first fight this might appear a

well meant, though ineffectual, endeavour, to favour the Ength ma nufacture; but the cafe was directly the reverfe; and Mr. Francis was well informed, that above two thirds of the laces fold for the manufacture of Buckinghamshire were in reality French, fmuggled by the English manufacturer, rolled upon English cards, and fold by them as the produce of their own labour. With refpect to the revenue in general there was a fingular contrast between the language and the proceedings of the chancellor of the exchequer. He declared, that the finances of the country were in a molt flourishing condition, and that there was a real, effective, and unquestionable furplus to the amount of a million per ann.m. From what caufe could a ftate of fasts, fo extraordinary, and fo full of confolation and encouragement to this country, be fuppofed to arife? It could proceed from nothing, but that long establifhe, wif and fuccefsful fyftem of commerce, which the present treaty with France was intended to fubvert. We acknowleged and infilled upon the benefits and profits of a commercial fyftem, at the very moment when we were going to a bandon it.

With refpect to the naval part of the question it was to be confidered, that the certain effect, if not the acknowleged principle of the trea y, was to fabilisure a very near commercial market in the place of a remote one; or at least to prefer the ormer to the latter. Now what was the immediate operation or fuch a fubdi ution? A commercial intercourfe with France would be carried on by thort trips, and by feamen, perhaps even by landmen, who neither wanted much experi ence, nor could poffibly gain any

in fuch a navigation. The whole of it would be performed by skippers, fmugglers, and packet-boats, and juft as easily by the French as the English.

With a view to the general policy of the treaty the meafure was alarming indeed. If every other objection to it on every other ground were answered or abandoned, its obvious political tendency would be fufficient to condemn it in the mind of every man, who was anxious for the honour, the virtue, and the freedom of Great Britain. To ilJuftrate this point Mr. Francis alluded to an incident in his own life. He had early had the good fortune to hold a place, inconfiderable indeed, but immediately under the late earl of Chatham, who had honoured him with repeated marks of his favour and protection. In the year 1760 Mr. fecretary Pitt recommended it to the late king, to fend the earl of Kinnoul ambaffador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the court of Libon; and the fame recommendation engaged that nobleman to appoint Mr. Francis his fecretary. The real, though not the oftenfible object of this embaffy, was the difcuffion of various infractions of treaty, and fundry grievances to which our merchants refiding in that country were expofed. While this negoWhile this negociation was depending, the marquis de Pombal furprifed lord Kinnoul with a declaration, that, from various appearances, he was convinced, that the court of France had determined to come to an open rupture with Portugal, and a requeft, upon the fuppofition of that event, to know whether they might depend upon the vigorous fupport of his Britannic majefty. In this cafe Mr. fecretary Pitt difdained to fuffer any commercial complaint, any

grievance or momentary intereft to be mixed with a queftion of policy, and inftantly forwarded a declaration," that the king would always confider the defence of Portugal, as an object dear to the honour and welfare of his crown, and the first in rank immediately after the dominions of Great Britain herself." One would have thought, that, if the minifter of the day knew nothing of the true policy, or however he might defpife the ancient maxims of his country, he would at leaft have refpected the example, though he had not been instructed by the leffons of paternal authority. But we were grown wiler than our venerable ancestors, and the wif dom of the fon was now to correc the errors of his father's age and experience.

One of the oldeft maxims in our language afferted, that evil communication corrupted good manners. Mr. Francis conceived, that this maxim might be beneficially applied to the point in queftion; and it was his deliberate conviction, that the nearer the two nations were drawn into contact, and the more fuccefsfully they were invited to mingle with each other, in the fame proportion the remaining morals, principles, and vigour of the English national mind would be enervated and corrupted. We fhould be civilized out of our virtue, and polifhed out of our charafter. He, whofe ultimate purpofe was to entlave a free people, always began by endeavouring to corrupt them; and, whether fuch were the defign of the prefent adminiftration or not, the road they followed could lead to no other object.

It was faid that the French and the English were not natural enemies; and Mr. Francis admitted,

that

dut towards this country an unwearied and fyftematical series of meatures, distinguifhed either by their finifter intrigue or their de clared hoftility? He did not mean, that this enmity rofe from any vin dictive principles; the inceffant object of her ambition was univerfal monarchy, and it was from us that fhe feared to be traverfed in her purfuit. From us alone did the other powers of Europe hope for protection, to maintain that balance of power, which could preferve their refpective liberties from her incroachments. The fenfe of this country was very clearly difplayed in the bulinefs of the commercial connection, which was attempted with France in 1713. The adminiftration of that day poffeffed the entire confidence, reverence and affection of the people and the parliament. By their influence they had stopped the career of our conquefts, and degraded and difhonoured the man, (the duke of Marlborough) who had advanced the character of this country to the highest elevation. But, though able to accomplish every thing else, they had been defeated in this attempt, and parliament had wifely and generoufly fubverted a plan, which, had it been adopted, would have ruined the profperity of this country, and probably destroyed the liberties of every country in Europe.

that there was not any natural antipathy between them. On the contrary, no people agreed better in private life. It was their relative pofition, their vicinity to each other, that furnified a perpetual fource of difputes, that made them rivals in peace, as well as enemies in war. Nations, which bordered on each other, could never thoroughly agree, for this fingle reafon, that they were neighbours. All history and experience affured us of the fact. As to an alliance or intimate union between the cabinets of a defpotic and a limited monarchy, it was not antipathy, it was not prejudice; it was the policy, it was the wifdom, it was the experience of England, which ever had and for ever ought to deter us from accepting it. Such to this day had been the true principle of English councils. But the pomp of modern eloquence was employed to blast the triumphs of lord Chatham's adminiftration. The polemical laurels of the father muft yield to the pacific myrtles which fhadow the forehead of the fon. The first and most prominent feature in the political character of lord Chatham was antigallican. His glory was founded on the refiftance he made to the united power of the house of Bourbon. The prefent minifter had taken the oppofite road to fame; and France, the object of every hoftile principle in the policy of lord Chatham, was the gens amiciffima of his fon. The arguments of Mr. Fox coincided in many respects with thofe of Mr. Francis. France, he maintained, was the inveterate and unalterable enemy of Great Britain. No ties of affection or mutual intereft could poffibly eradicate what was fo deeply rooted in her conftitution. Was not her whole con

Much had been faid upon the fubject of reciprocity; and Mr. Fox had carefully perufed the treaty, in order to find the equivalent we had gained, in return for the great advantage we had conceded to France, in reducing the duties upon her wines. But he could find no fuch equivalent. An appeal had been made to our woollen and our cotton manufactures :

but