Lord Fer rers. The Earl of November 14. The Earl of Powis, reported to the House, that her Majefty had been waited upon with the Congratulatory Message of that House, to which her Majefty had been pleased to return the following moft gracious answer; "My Lords, "I return my fincereft thanks to the House of Peers.Their duty to the King, and attention to me, calls forth my warmeft acknowledgements." Adjourned. Lord Ferrers rofe up yesterday in the Houfe of Peers, and wished to be informed, whether the confideration of the Definitive Treaties were to come on in that Houfe before the recess at Christmas ? This brought up the Earl of Abingdon; who faid, "My Lords, Having before expreffed my entire fatisfaction with the terms of the peace, and already given to the Houfe my ideas. upon that fubject, it were unneceffary for me again to trou ble your Lordships upon the fame occafion, and the more efpecially fo, as I have been made to find, that that which, in preliminary articles, was matter of condemnation and centure to fome of your Lordships, now meets, in definitive treaties, by the veil of a profligate and abandoned faction being thrown afide, the unanimous fuffrage and confent of all. Nor, my Lords, fhould I have rifen on this day, had it not been for a fpeech which, not being prefent at the time it was fpoken, I have feen and read in the public papers; a fpeech, my Lords, which whilft it would approve the peace, would attempt to villify and calumniate the author of it; but which, in my opinion, proving, by its own invective, and the mode of reafoning adopted therein, the beft of eulogies, and the higheft panegyric upon both the author and the peace; it is to convince your Lordships of this, that I rife to trefpafs for a few words on the time and patience of the House. It is faid, my Lords, in the fpeech I allude to, that the preliminary articles of peace were difgraceful, pufillaninous, and difhonourable; and yet, my Lords, thefe very preliminary articles of peace, disgraceful, pufillanimous, and difhonour dishonourable, as they are reprefented to be, are nevertheless made only because through the fpirit and good conduct of the prefent Miniftry, they are not quite fo difgraceful in the ratification as they are in preliminary articles,' no less the fubject of adulation to Minifters than they are, because peace, long wished for peace, is at last established,' of declamatory joy and congratulation to the public. "But, my Lords, this being faid of the confiftency of this exordium in overture of Minifters, let us a little fee how the affertion, that the preliminary articles of peace were difgraceful, pufillanimous, and difhonourable,' ftand in point of reafoning, argument, and of fact, "It is faid, in a kind of logical procefs, though unaccompanied by any other symptom of logic, that the preliminary articles were difgraceful, and that they were dif graceful, because they took away from the dignity of this kingdom.' That they were difhonourable, because better terms might have been obtained,' That they were pufillanimous, because we made conceffions, when we should have had humiliations.' Affertions, my Lords, without proofs, reafoning without reasons, and arguments without a fingle fact to fupport them for what is this but to fay, that the preliminary articles were difgraceful,' because they were dif graceful; that they were difhonourable,' because they were dishonourable; and that they were pufillanimous,' because they were pufillanimous; and yet, my Lords, fuch is the fupport of Miniftry, and fuch the way that calumny would afperfe, and flander ufe its tongue. "But now, my Lords, to admit the truth of all, to admit that thefe articles were as they are stated to be, and that their ratification were an act not of choice but of neceffity in the prefent Minifters; why not fay fo then? And why make that which is difgraceful, that which is dishonourable, and that which is pufillanimous, the fubject matter not only of unanimous parliamentary approbation, as it has been made, but of merit, boafted merit to Minifters, as well as of general acclamation and joy to the nation? For peace, long wifhed for peace, fays the fpeech, is at laft eftablished! Can there be then, my Lords, as I have faid, a higher proof of panegyric and eulogy more ftrongly expreffed than this affords? And what is this, but as in the fable, to fteal the lion's fkin, in order that the afs might wear it? "But it is faid, my Lords, that this country stood indebted to the present Adininistration for amending the ratifi ed ed articles,' thofe fhameful and difgraceful terms that were in the preliminaries. What fhameful and difgraceful terms, my Lords? Does the fpeech know, and could it explain it. felf even at this hour? Or is this one of those hardy and bold affertions, which much credulity and little knowledge are apt fo readily to conceive and utter? But, my Lords, here again too I will admit the fact; I will adinit that they were shameful and difgraceful terms in the preliminaries; and admitting this, let me ask your Lordships, is it not fair, is it not liberal, is not honeft to fuppofe, that if the late Adminiftration had had the conclufion of the peace in their hands, that they might not have rectified, by the definitive treaties, thefe errors in the preliminaries, as well as the present Adminiftration have done? Nay, my Lords, it is not to be fupposed that the late Administration, knowing better furely than any other could do, both the feeble and the forte of their own negociations, that the other defects too might not have been remedied, which have efcaped the all-penetrating eye even of the prefent Adminiftration? And if fo, my Lords, where is the merit of the prefent Miniftry, and in what does the country ftand indebted to them? On the contrary, is it not shameful and difgraceful in them to take merit to themselves upon fuch an occafion; and, instead of praises, do they not rather deserve the curfes of the nation, if it were but for this very act alone, inasmuch as amended as the peace is by the prefent Adminiftration, it might not only have been equally amended by the late Miniftry, but from their more intimate knowledge of the fubje&t, might have been infinitely better than it now is? And therefore, my Lords, I do in my turn affert, and dogmatically affert too, that the taking of the peace out of the late Administration under the circumftances in which it was done, was an act of treason to the State, of a kind as nefarious and flagitious as any that ever had trial at your Lordships' bar. "And now, my Lords, I had done, if it were not for one thing more, and that is the beautiful little image that has been made the ornament of this fpeech, fo beautiful, that I cannot help taking notice of the bantling, and for a while dandling it in my arms; for, my Lords, it is faid, the peace appeared in the fhape of a rickety bantling, dropped at the door of the prefent Minifters by its too hafty parents, and there begging her fupport and protection. They took it up, examined its defects, and as they found a kind of national promife made in its favour, they nurfed it, and by the dint dint of political art, kept it alive, until they could obtain a ratification for its exiftence, on the beft terms that could be obtained for the benefit of its country.' "Such is the image, my Lords; and however rhetorical the allegory, however beautiful the figure, what is the fact and the truth? Was this bantling dropt at the door of Minifters, and did it there beg its fupport and protection of them? No, my Lords; and is not the very reverse of this the fact and the truth. Were not Minifters rather dropt at the door of this bantling, and, under that fhelter, made to feek their own fupport and protection? Or, rather, my Lords, may it not be faid with greater truth than in either cafe, that the taking of this bantling into the hands of the prefent Minifters, was a political ravishment of a ward out of the hands of its proper guardians; accomplished on the one hand by fraud, and on the other by force? By fraud, in making Viscounts of this Houfe to believe that they were to be raised to Earldoms; and members of the House of Commons, that they were to be created Peers of the realm. Thanks to the firmnefs and wifdom of his Majefty, both have been equally difappointed! By force, my Lords, in having, under the cloak of this bantling, feized upon the Cabinet of the King, and taking, as we all know, with a violence unheard of before, forcible poffeffion of the government of this country. Thefe are the features of the ricketty bantling,' as it has been called, and this the fact and truth. "But now let us fee, my Lords, what the features are of the nurse, the fofterdam, the ftepmother, or the mother-inlaw, call it which you please, of this ricketty bantling, and who is faid, (contrary to all experience) to have taken more care of it than its own natural parents could have done, and this, my Lords, I, in my turn, will reprefent to your Lordships; not in allegory, however, my Lords, nor in metaphor, nor figure, nor as a child of fancy, or creature of the imagination, but in real true picture, drawn from the life, and of living existence; and here it is, my Lords, (holding up the figure of Lord North and Mr. Fox in the print of the coalition diffected) ecce homunculus! My Lords! Vera copia examinata! The nurfe of that bantling, which has been defcribed to your Lordships; and to which nurfe, I muft entreat your Lordships' attention; not in laughter, my Lords, for it is no joke, but in fober ferious earneftnefs; and to this end must humbly move the noble Lord upon the woolfack, that I may have leave to lay this figure upon the table, for The Earl of for your Lordships' examination; from which I vow to God, my Lords, I think, more real benefit might be drawn to the country, than from all the papers (important as they are) that will be laid upon your Lordships' table during the whole feffion of Parliament. For what, my Lords, must be the refult of fuch an examination? I will tell your Lordships. You will fee the Government of this country in the hands of this bifronted monster: And in the name of poffibility, what papers can turn to use that are to have the direction of fuch an unnatural Lufus Nature as this is? But I have now done, my Lords, with a fingle remark only. However difgraceful, however difhonourable, however pufillanimous the peace is, I rejoice to give it to my noble friend who made it; it is his, and let him have the honour of it. A peace negociated without connection, and obtained without corruption; though he faw at the time the spirit of a malignant faction ftaring him in the face. But the purity of his intentions, the firmness of his mind, and the wifdom of his conduct, have rifen fuperior and triumphant over all oppofition. It has met with what no other peace ever did before in the annals of our hiftory. It has had the unanimous fuffrage of Parliament, and the approbation of his King and country. In apoftrophe, therefore, to my noble friend, let me fay to him, in the words of Horace-Age, et fume fuperbiam que fitam meritis." The Earl of Sandwich moved to adjourn, and infifted that Sandwich. the motion of adjournment, being made by him, it ought to be immediately put, on which the Earl of Mansfield, being of the fame opinion, and rifing to ftate it to the House, The Dukeof The Duke of Richmond ftood up, and infifted that the Richmond. motion of adjournment was premature, and contrary to the confuetude of the Houfe in fimilar inftances. The noble Earl who had propofed laying the print on the table for the contemplation of their Lordships, had furely a right to infift on his propofal; fuch a measure was authorifed by the prac tice of their Lordships. Lord Mansfield. Lord Thurlow. Lord Mansfield ftill perfifted in his former opinion; while the Duke of Richmond perfevered in maintaining his origi nal fentiments. Lord Thurlow hoped the Houfe would not be averfe from indulging the noble Earl with laying before them whatever paper he might imagine would contribute either to their amusement or edification. The |