had faid the navy of England was not only in a flourish ing, but a vigorous ftate; and we had the happieft prospects before us for the next campaign. The Duke of Richmond faid the peace was no peace of his; Duke of he could find a hundred faults with it; and as to Gibraltar, Richmond his Grace did not well understand the noble Lord when he threw out, that no one had ever faid, that it might not be given up in certain cafes. His Grace thought, that their Lordships ought neceffarily to have the treaty with the Dutch laid before them, before they came to any determination on the Preliminary Articles; and he begged to know from the noble Earl, whether the rumour was true, that the important bay and fettlement of Trincomale was to be given up. burne. The Earl of Shelburne difclaimed any disrespect toward Earl Shel Lord Keppel, and with refpect to Gibraltar, he again infifted upon it, that it had been faid, that it might be given up in fuch and fuch inftances. His Lordfhip faid it was: no fecret, what the treaty would be with Holland. The Cape of Good Hope was to be ceded to the Dutch, and Trincomale was alfo to be given up. bourgh Lord Loughborough faid, that he had waited to hear the Lord Lough opinions of thofe Lords, who, from their fituation, muft have the fulleft information of all circumftances, under which the articles were concluded. Four Lords, in high offices, who had the beft means of knowing whether the terms were adequate to the relative fituation of the country, had delivered their opinions in the debate. Two of them, that the terms were unfit for the country to accept, and that no neceflity urged us to admit them. One of thefe Lords had given the frongeft teftimony of his opinion, by refigning an employment that he quitted with as much honour as he had held it, becaufe he would not advise his Royal mafter to accept peace on fuch terms. To ascertain the relative abilities of the powers at war, to continue the conteft, might often be a very difficult matter in the prefent cafe, he required but one point to be admitted-That the condition of the country was not fo defperate as to oblige us to except of any conditions our enemies chose to offer; in fhort, that this was a treaty, not a capitulation, the articles of which were under deliberation. Neither of the Lords who had advifed the peace, had argued in favour of it upon that ground, but had confidered the preliminaries as ar ticles ticles of a treaty; and yet they had both omitted to point out upon what line that treaty was conducted. When two powers at war have opened to each other their defire of making peace, it is obvious that fome point muft be fixed as the bafis of the negotiation, either that of the actual poffeffion of the time of the treaty, or of the state of their poffeffions at the breaking out of the war, or at fome other given period. The firft, the uti poffidetis, notwithstanding all our loffes was not fo favourable to our enemies, that they could have accepted it as a noble Viscount (Lord Stormont) had clearly fhewn. If there was any line drawn for this treaty, it could only be what the Minifters had ftated, that France infifted as a bafis of the negotiation, that fhe fhould be fecured against thofe infults to which the had fubmitted in former treaties. How then was this idea carried into execution by the prefent articles? In Europe, France was to be relieved not only from the reftraint of a Commiffary established at Dunkirk, (which might perhaps be a circumftance of unneceffary mortification) but from the engagement of the treaty of Utrecht, purchased by this country as an immenfe expence, not to fortify or reftore a port made to control England in the very Channel, and attack her in the mouth of the Thames. France to be out of infult there, required to be put in a condition at any time to infult us in the centre of our trade. The noble Lord at the head of the Treafury had, indeed, treated this as a very immaterial article, and affected to confider the anxiety of former Minifters on the subject of Dunkirk, as an idle apprehenfion, or an artifice to flatter and deceive the people; it would require, however, a greater experience of that noble Lord's abilities, to be convinced that he knew better the true interefts of the country, than all the fucceffive adminiftrations for above a century, and that the wiseft and the firmeft men of their age, were either poffeffed with a weak and foolish apprehenfion, when they thought the restoration of the port of Dunkirk dangerous to the fafety of England, or were mean enough to attach a falfe value to that object merely to impofe upon a people who must have been very willing to be fo long deceived. The next point in which France was to be put beyond in fult, was, in regard to the fishery; not only the restraint of fortifying St. Pierre and Miquelon is removed, but the extent of the fishery is enlarged, and the articles are drawn in fuch a manner as to leave France a larger claim than the words words directly avow. A noble Viscount (Lord Stormont) had well explained the pretenfions of the French to an exclufive right of fishery within the limits defcribed by the treaty of Utrecht. That claim had been urged in Mr.. Silhouette's Memorial, prefented before the laft war, but had been very fully refuted on the part of England, and was abandoned at the treaty of Paris. In the prefent articles, it is revived: what elfe can be meant by the recital of the third article of quarrels that had fubfifted; the only quarrel that ever fubfifted was, whether the right of France was exclufive or concurrent. In the fourth article, the French are to enjoy this right, not as they have enjoyed, but as they have a right to enjoy it, by the treaty of Utrecht. The noble Lord who spoke laft, had taken no notice of this point, and had only afferted, that the new limits were more favourable to England than to France; in extent, they certainly were lefs favourable, the propofal to vary the li mits evidently came on the part of France. It was not eafy to fuppofe that fhe had chofen for herself the worft ftations; but admitting all this, why did the noble Lord avoid the plain question, whether he understood the French fishery to be exclufive or concurrent. If exclufive, it was a new and an important acquifition, difguised too from the public eye by the manner of granting it. If concurrent, the words of the treaty were fo loofe and ambiguous, that they left open an immediate caufe of quarrel between the two countries. The fishery is diminished, but the fur trade is entirely renounced, for the country that produces that article is given away. The noble Lord who fpoke laft, defends this by arguments which concludes for an entire ceffion of Canada, and points out that this must be intended, for what else is the meaning of ftating the account of the profit and lofs of that province. The charge, however, was in a great degree to be placed to the account of the war, and the profit would have been very great upon a peace, had we not given away the most valuable part of the province. The noble Lord attempts alfo to juftify this ceffion by a long declamation against monopolies and an encomium upon open and free trade. How the cenfure of monopolies has the leaft application to this queftion, it was impoffible to conceive, we had a monopoly of the fur in the fame manner that every country has a monopoly of its own produce. Iron, lead, coal, wine, wood, the natural produce of any countries, are fold by by those who poffefs them, as owners, not as monopolifts. The fur trade was ours because we held the country that fupplied it. How is the trade laid open by transferring that country to the Americans. No more than the coal trade would be opened by yielding up our mines to another power. The merchants too are accufed of being anxious. for their own interests and not understanding the benefit of fharing, or rather transferring their profits to others, and a new æra of trade on new principles is announced. We know to what height the purfuits of old and plain maxims of trade has raifed this country. But it is not eafy to comprehend the benefits that will refult from this new fyftem fo magnificently defcribed. In the Eaft Indies, according to the articles, it is difficult to conceive when or how the war is to cease. ! There too the principle of fecuring France against the infults impofed by former treaties, is carried to a ftrange extent. France having loft every fettlement on the continent, Afia is not only fully reftored, but to the fortifications of Pondicherry, a large territory is to be added, a free and unreftrained, and what is worfe, an undefined trade is granted, and liberty given in effect to fortify Chandernagore. To fortify; for after all that has paffed on that fubject, it would be folly to imagine, that France means any thing lefs than a fortification, by the liberty given to furround that place with a ditch. The French had made that ditch during the last peace; the officer fent to infpect it, General Campbell, now Governor of Jamaica, whofe abilities and honour no man can doubt, demonftrated, that it was in effect, a fortification; the earth was thrown up on the fide of the place, banked and formed with angles, which could not be the work of a mere ditch. On his report, the fervants of the India Company, inftead of prefenting a complaint, ufed their power, and deftroyed the work. The liberty given to restore the ditch, after this recent conteft upon it, muft mean to restore it to its former ftate, and the answer made to this objection, that the India Company will not be bound to allow more than a mere ditch, only fhews, that this article furnishes an immediate occafion of quarrel; but another part of the article is connected with this; the free and independent trade, fuch as the French Eaft India Company enjoyed, without fpecifying at what period, not only raifes a conteft about-duties, but taken in its full extent, makes Chandernagore a place of arins: The French Eaft India India Company, prior to our acquifitions in Bengal, were encouraged to carry arms into that country; during the peace, the veffels have been vifited, and no arms permitted to be brought in. If that reftraint is given up, Chandernagore will foon be a moft formidable poft in the centre of our government; if it is infifted on, will the French fubmit to it? The 16th article, in terms, continues the war, for it introduces the French into every negotiation with the country powers; it gives them allies in every part of India, as foon as the advices can reach that country over land; it raises them, at once, into a rivalship with the English, for the protection of the country powers, who by entering into measures with them, have nothing to apprehend, and every thing to gain, and it makes hoftilities ceafe four month after a notification, which France may give, if it is expedient, and may with-hold, if it is not. Could France, it is faid, omit ftipulating for the Princes The may have engaged in the war, it would have been unworthy the honour of a great nation. Would to God, that reflection had had more weight in another part of this treaty, where the honour of this nation was moft deeply pledged. France could not have omitted her allies; but he might have named thein; it regards, it is faid, Hyder Aly, with whom orders were fent to make a treaty. Why not then refer to the orders, name Hyder Aly, name any other Prince of Hindoftan, defcribe the extent of the engagement, but not leave an opportunity to convert every propofal to any power into an engagement of alliance. The addition of territory to Pondicherry and Karical is treated as a trifling matter. It was not thought fo in the negotiations for the treaty of Paris. Great art was employed, and preffing folicitations to carry that point; but the Minifters then were well informed of the value Mr. du Pleix put upon that territory, and that he held it to be a firm foundation for the power of France, on the coaft of Coromandel, and for an oppofition to the English influence. The noble Lord, at the head of the Treafury, fays, that the engagement to procure that territory, is fimilar to the engagement in the provifional articles of the Congrefs to recommend the Loyalifts. Happy would it have been for thofe unfortunate and deferving fubjects, if the fame spirit that dictated this article, had, on our part, been exerted in their favour. But fhall we tell France, that to procure is only to recommend, and at the fame time expect, VOL. XI. M that |