the principles of Thomas Paine, and inculcated, under the pretext of a reform in parliament, those principles which tended to subvert our happy constitution. French opinions were recommended uniformly and artfully at all these various clubs, and disseminated, with the utmost industry, into all the corners of the kingdom, and under the French proceedings, asserbling themselves under the style of citizen and equal-no king-no nobles-no clergy, were the subjects of their discussions, and the only remedy pointed out by the leaders, was the desperate extremity of creating a new organ, namely, a convention of Englishmen; it being roundly asserted, that parliament itself was too corrupt to admit of any other resource. The chief magistrate also mentioned another very numerous society, which had been expelled from the King's Arms tavern in Cornhill. He said, that on the evening preceding their expulsion, the chairman publicly declared, without any material opposition, that he held republican principles, and after stating to the company, details of riots, in various places, and particularly an attempt to plant the tree of liberty in Dundee, he added, "that he lamented that we were not so forward." His lordship concluded by submitting his conduct to the judgment of the House, and declaring that he should vote against the motion.

Mr. Fox, after treating certain reports, such as that of a conspiracy formed to seize the Tower of London, as he thought they deserved, declared, that neither he nor his friends were obstinate infidels, but that they only desired to

bé convinced, and would readily alter their opinion, if they saw any reasonable evidence to induce them so to do. As to what had been said, that no pretext had been held forth by ministers to justify the proclamations for calling out the militia, and for the meeting of parliament, but that they had fairly and distinctly stated the fact; he must beg leave to observe that a true fact may frequently be used as a false pretext; and here, by the honourable gentleman's own account of the matter, the insurrections satisfied at most but the letter of the law; while a cause totally different and unconnected, either with these insurrections or with the purview of the act of parliament, was recurred to in order to satisfy the spirit of the act.

Mr. Fox now adverted to the proceedings of the Crown and Anchor association, and remarked with great severity on receiving and considering anonymous information. He then asked, if it could be considered as a justifiable expedient of administration, to tell the public that treasons and conspirácies existed, and neither to prosecute nor endeavour to discover the conspirators and traitors. He knew that it had been confidently asserted, among other things, that letters had been written by him and his friends to persons in France, of a dangerous tendency, and that it was owing entirely to the lenity of ministers, that they were not produced. If ministers were in possession of any such letters, he challenged them to the proof. But be should be told it was an awkward thing to produce letters opened at the Post Office. To that he should answer, the awkwardness was in opening

them

them at the Post-Office. It did, however, so happen, that for, he believed, more than two years, he had not had occasion to write a single letter to France, except one to an English friend (Lord Lauderdale) when at Paris. Again he should be told, that he had seen Frenchmen in this country, and that he had seen the French minister. He had seen Frenchmen here, and had seen the French minister; but he had yet to learn, that it was any crime for him or any gentleman to see the minister sent to our court from any country. He knew of no law by which members of parliament, like senators of Venice, were prohibited from even conversing with the ministers of foreign states. Was it not a situation of the country horrible to relate, that men's correspondence and conversation were to be pried into with such inquisitorial jealousy, as to make it dangerous for them to commit their thoughts to paper, or to converse with a stranger, but in presence of a third person? Let the House do away all these suspicions and rumours by an honest inquiry, and restore the public to that freedom and confidence, both of writing and speech, which it was the pride of our constitution to bestow, and which became the frank and open character of a free people. Mr. Fox concluded with declaring, that he was still incredulous, and should vote for enquiry, which was never more necessary, than when the situation of the country was apprehended to be dangerous.

After a long speech of Mr. Burke, which displayed his usual ardour and eloquence, on various circumstances of the French revolution, and was productive of a very un

VOL. XXXV.

pleasant altercation between him and Mr. Fox, the motion introduced by Mr. Sheridan was negatived without a division.

The period which is comprehended in this chapter, embraces several very important circumstances. Parliament, sensible of the unusual situation of the country, may be said neither to have slumbered nor slept; but to have persevered in an unremitting state of deliberative exertion. Several laws were framed for the protection of the kingdom against the designs of domestic as well as foreign enemies and the whole power of the representative wisdom of Great Britain seems to have been employed in guarding against dangers, with which our constitution and liberties were menaced, by the tremendous power, the revolutionary spirit and destructive principles of the French convention,

;

By the alien bill, the public tranquillity received an additional security; as it subjected the resort and residence of foreigners to certain regulations, in order to obviate any dangers which might arise from the intrigues and machinations of Frenchmen admitted into this country. Other bills also received the assent of the legislature to prevent the circulation of assignats, bonds and promissory notes of the French government, and to prohibit the exportation of grain, under certain circumstances, as well as that of naval stores. These laws which were made to prohibit the importation of French emissaries, and the exportation of specie, grain and naval stores, for the service of France, may be considered as measures of the most urgent precaution, which existing circumstances [H]

perem

peremptorily required, and subsequent events have completely justified.

The production of the correspondence between Lord Grenville and Mr. Chauvelin, the French minister at the court of London, is so connected with the affairs of France, that we shall refer our remarks upon it to that part of our work which is assigned to foreign transactions.

But the most important and interesting event which is presented to our consideration in the foregoing pages, is the declaration of war against Great Britain, by the Convention of France; and event engendered by that revolutionary spiFit which menaced the constituted authorities of every neighbouring kingdom, and which it became the interest and the duty of every neighbouring kingdom to resist. This country, however, appears to have observed a very strict neutrality with respect to France; and if the French had confined themselves within the limits of their own government, no reason suggests itself to us, which can justify the opinion, that this scrupulous neutrality would not have been continued. But this line of conduct, Great Britain, though with great reluctance, was obliged to change, not only in its own defence, but for the maintenance of every existing system in Europe, in the balance of which she not only formed a principal part, but in the due preservation of which she has so material an interest.

That spirit of agrandizement which France had openly professed, she had now begun to execute. Under the pretext of establishing universal liberty and fraternity, she

aimed at universal conquest. She had over-run the whole of the Austrian Netherlands, the province of Nice, the duchy of Savoy, and several states situated on the Rhine; while her victories were attended with consequences unknown to civilized nations. She, at length, threatened to fraternize, or, in other words, to subjugate Holland. In this state of things, is there a reflecting, unprejudiced man to be found, who will seriously deny the necessity which impelled this country to prepare itself for the probable contingencies of a period so big with menace and ́alarm?

The possibility of preventing war by the British government has, indeed, been boldly asserted, but never, at least, to our comprehension, satisfactorily proved. To treat with France at such a moment, appears to have been altogether impracticable, where the momentary and fickle will of an armed multitude had been substituted for order and for laws. The outcry of the leading persons in the French government, if, at this period, it can be called a government, was a general revolution, to be obtained in every kingdom in Europe, by exciting internal revolt, or menacing external attack. Could England, therefore, consistently with her honour or her interest, remain a tranquil spectator of the destructive march of such a people. Was she not compelled by both these influencing principles to draw her sword, and advance to protect her allies from the destroying power that threatened them. France knew the terms on which she might secure, as she had possessed, the neutrality of Great Britain. She had only to withdraw

withdraw her forces within her own territories, and to confine herself to the establishment of her own constitution. But peace was not her object to use the expression of Brissot, when he was the predominant demagogue of the French nation, the four corners of Europe must be in flames before the power of France could be established: nay, it is a known, incontrovertible fact, that the French executive government had, with a characteristic perfidy, determined on a war with England, at the very moment when its agent in London was engaged in a correspondence with the British ministry, for the avowed purpose of preserving peace. It appears therefore, that there was no alternative. Great Britain had most scrupulously avoided committing the least act of provocation, while the French were equally anxious to discover or invent some pretext for aggression. The reasons which they assigned for declaring war are so frivolous, so ridiculous, and so ill-founded, as to render them objects of contempt as well as detestation, and evidently prove, that war was a constituent part of that policy, by which their tyranny was to be maintained; that it was considered by them as the purveyor to provide for the blood-thirsty maw of a ferocious ambition.

Great eloquence was, indeed, employed by Mr. Fox, and other partizans of opposition, to prove, that war might have been avoided, if ministers had attended to the real honour and interests of their country; and that France itself was anxious to maintain peace, when she was forced into hostilities by the aggressions of Great Britain. But, surely, it may be asked, with some

Pity of MICH

£99

degree of confidence, if the French executive government, in the interval which elapsed between the 19th of November, and the final departure of M. Chauvelin from England, evinced a disposition to remove the well-founded alarms experienced by our court, by a repeal of the decree which gave rise to them? The French rulers did indeed deny that it would bear the interpretation which had been given to it by the British ministry, but their whole conduct at this time gave the lie to their assertions. It would be a matter of some difficulty to produce, from the annals of any country, a more gross contradiction between the professions and practice of a government, or a more perfidious violation of truth and good faith, than those by which the political proceedings of the French were distinguished. It is remarkable also, that, on the 15th of December, the very day when a decree passed the national assembly, whose articles contain a systematic plan for disorganising all civilised governments, and profess to consider as enemies any nation who should presume to reject their offer of liberty and equality or to enter into any treaty with a prince or privileged orders;-on that very day, the provisional executive council wrote to their agent Chauvelin, instructing him to disavow all hostile intentions on the part of France, and to proclaim how much they detested the thought of entering into a war with England. In short, the hostile principles of the offensive decrees were almost immediately confirmed by the instructions of the provincial executive council, to the national commissioners in the Netherlands: nor is it the least ex[H2] traordinary

traordinary circumstance of these extraordinary transactions, that these instructions were signed by the executive council, on the 8th of January, 1793; the very day when Mons. Le Brun, one of the members who subscribed them, addressed a paper to lord Grenville, in which he declared that the French knew how to respect other governments, and did not wish to impose laws on any.

Such were the circumstances which influenced, not only a very commanding majority of both houses of parliament, but, as it evidently appeared, of the nation at large, to consider the war with France not only as necessary for the maintenance of treaties and the support of our allies; but as essential to the preservation of our political existence as a free and happy people.

Nor did the incredulity of Mr. Sheridan, respecting the existence of domestic faction and seditious practices, meet with any support in parliament, but from the diminished phalanx of opposition. His accusation of ministers for creating

and fomenting a spirit of alarm throughout the country to answer their own political purposes, was very generally considered as a mere ebullition of party rancour, which had no foundation in truth or probability. Men politically ignorant, or politically prejudiced, might deny the existence of seditious practices; but can better evidence be required to that point, than the declaration of those very persons who were obviously planning, in concert with France, the subversion of our constitution: who, in the most public and daring manner, avowed, that numerous societies were forming themselves upon the same principle in every part of England; and who declared, with an exulting expectation, the speedy approach of that time, when the French should send addresses to the national convention of England. After such a testimony, will any serious, unprejudiced, reflecting man, accuse ministers of raising frivolous alarms, and fomenting public apprehensions, in order to promote their own views of power and ambition.

N Wednesday, the 6th of

0% March, Mr. Secretary Dun

das presented to the House of Com

mons a message from his majesty, informing them that he had judged it expedient to employ, in

the