that event, which would be dreadful to humanity, repugnant to justice, to France eternally disgraceful, and to the world detestable; if it was the wish of that House to state the universal and unanimous execration and abhorrence which such an event would create in this country, the mode was easy; they could address his majesty for the declaration of his ambassador on quitting Paris, and an unanimous vote might be come to before they parted, expressing their full and hearty concurrenee in that declaration, and the abhorrence and detestation with which they should see any act against the personal safety of the king or his family. The Report of the Committee was agreed to; after which Mr. Pitt moved for "a Copy of Instructions sent to earl Gower, signifying his majesty's pleasure that he should leave Paris," which was agreed to. Instructions to Earl Gower signifying that he should quit Paris.] December 21. Mr. Secretary Dundas presented the following Copy of the Instructions sent to Earl Gower, his Majesty's ambassador to the most Christian king, signifying his Majesty's pleasure that he should quit Paris. Whitehall, August 17th, 1792. My lord;-In the absence of lord Grenville, I have received and laid before the king your excellency's dispatch, No. XL. His majesty learns, with the deepest concern, the height to which the distractions in Paris have been carried, and the deplorable consequences to which they have led, which are doubly affecting to his majesty, from the regard which his majesty invariably feels for the persons of their most christian majesties, and his interest in their welfare, as well as from the wishes which he forms for the tranquillity and prosperity of a kingdom with which he is in amity. Under the present circumstances, as it appears that the exercise of the executive power has been withdrawn from his most christian majesty, the credential, under which your excellency has hitherto acted, can be no longer available. And his majesty judges it proper, on this account, as well as most conformable to the principles of neutrality, which his majesty has hitherto observed, that you should no longer remain at Paris. It is there fore his majesty's pleasure that you should quit it, and repair to England, as soon as you conveniently can, after procuring the necessary passports. In any conversation which you may have occasion to hold, previous to your departure, you will take care to make your language conformable to the sentiments which are now conveyed to you; and you will particularly take every opportunity of expressing that, while his majesty intends strictly to adhere to the principles of neutrality, in respect to the settlement of the internal government of France, he, at the same time, considers it as no deviation from those principles, to manifest, by all the means in his power, his solicitude for the personal situation of their most christian majesties, and their royal family; and he earnestly and anxiously hopes that they will, at least, be secure from any acts of violence, which could not fail to produce one universal sentiment of indignation through every country of Europe. (Signed) HENRY DUNDAS. The Paper having been read, Mr. Pitt said, that from the paper the House would perceive what then were the sentiments of his majesty, with respect to the transactions which had occurred in France; and these, he presumed, were the sentiments of every British heart upon the same occasion. What now must be those sentiments, when cruelties had been exercised, when a spirit of the utmost barbarity had been displayed, and nothing remained for us to look forward to, but that dreadful and final consummation which could not fail to excite universal horror and indignation. The only difficulty that had occurred to him was, in what terms that House could express itself suitably to the occasion. Considering the unanimity of sentiment which prevailed upon the subject, he had at first thought, that the best mode in which the sense of that House could be expressed, would be by a vote-a vote which might reach the whole of Europe, the influence of which should extend to France, and might perhaps there produce the effect which was so much to be desired. But in turning the business over in his mind, a doubt had occurred to him, whether this would be the best mode of proceeding. This doubt arose not from any suspicion of the unanimity of that House in expressing their indignation at charged as criminal." He thought now, as he had on a former occasion expressed, that if the sentiment of that House was perfectly unanimous, and that of the other House also, to communicate that circumstance to France would have a decided influence on persons of all descriptions there. He had assigned some reasons for being of that opinion, but he should say no more upon the subject at present. If there was a point on which his opinion was more clear than on any other, it was upon the abstract rule of justice with respect to the trial of persons for offences against law, and he was sure it was impossible to keep up that rule without condemning, from the beginning to the end, the proceedings against the unfortunate king of France. a conduct which at once united the highest degree of cruelty and insanity; but from a reflection, that as that House, in giving their vote, would feel themselves bound to adopt terms the most strong and indignant, whether, by this circumstance national pride and jealousy might not be alarmed, whether these might not have the effect, in that state of fury to which the minds of the people were worked up, to mask and disguise the atrocity of their conduct, and hurry them on to the commission of that very crime which it was the intention of that House to exert their influence to prevent. In fluenced by this consideration, it had appeared to him to be a better mode simply to allow the paper to remain on the table of the House. This mode would fully imply the concurrence of that House, in the expression of his majesty's sentiments. Mr. Windham expressed his entire concurrence with the right hon. gentleman in every syllable he had uttered. If the sense of that House, the organ of the public voice at home, was to be expressed to a foreign power, the only organ this country could have for that purpose was its sovereign. He agreed also, that any formal communication to Paris might irritate and provoke the desperation of some persons, who might have their sovereign in their power, and by such means we should contribute to produce what we were all so anxious to prevent. Mr. Sheridan said, that this subject appeared to him one of great difficulty, importance, and delicacy. After the best attention he could give the subject, he must confess he knew of nothing better than that which was proposed by the chancellor of the exchequer, and therefore he concurred in it. However, he rejoiced to think that their common object was obtained in a great degree. Mr. Burke observed, that the manly declarations of the two gentlemen who spoke last deserved the highest approbation. He highly applauded the principle of our constitution, that the king was the only organ by which the sentiments of this country could be conveyed to any foreign power. He observed it would have been impossible to send a message to Paris that would not counteract the purpose of averting the cruelty so much deprecated. There were two parties there, equally the enemies of the king, the irritable and furious-and the malicious and timid. If a message in the imperious style was to be sent, the irritable and furious would become des Mr. Fox expressed his concurrence with the proposal. His opinion upon this subject was, he believed, the opinion of the whole House and the whole country. It was better that we should proceed no further than that we should engage ourselves too deeply. He had heard it said that the proceedings against the unhappy king of France were unnecessary. He would go a great deal further, and say he believed them to be highly unjust,perate. If in a mild tone, the timid would and not only repugnant to all the common feelings of mankind, but contrary to all the fundamental principles of law; for he regarded it as a principle of natural justice, an essential part of all human policy, never to be departed from under any circumstances or pretence whatever, in any country," that the criminal law shall be rigidly construed according to its letter-that subsequent laws shall be adapted to crimes, but that all persons shall be tried according to the laws in being at the time of committing the acts [VOL. XXX.] take courage, and become more dangerous than ever. The House, he said, was about to do itself great honor by its moderation and its dignity. The Paper was ordered to lie upon the table, to be perused by the members of the House. Debate on the Marquis of Lansdown's Motion for sending a Minister to ParisAnd on the Condition of the French Emigrants.] Dec. 19. Lord Grenville brought in a Bill" for establishing regulations re[L] specting Aliens arriving in this kingdom, | the ruling powers in that nation had or residing therein in certain cases." He thought proper to banish. Possibly she said, that the vast influx of foreigners into this country, in consequence of the distractions on the continent, had excited no small alarm in the minds of his majesty's ministers, who had reason to apprehend, that among them were persons disaffected to the government of this country. For the preservation therefore of the public tranquillity, it had been thought expedient to make this provision by means of an act. Although he conceived that his majesty, by virtue of his prerogative, might compass this end, yet as that extension of power had not been exerted for a long period of years, it was almost obsolete, and required a revisal. This bill had no reference to that subject; it neither increased nor diminished the prerogative of the crown; the law on that point would remain entirely untouched by this bill.-The bill was read a first time. Dec. 21. On the order of the day for the second reading of the Alien Bill, The Marquis of Lansdown rose. His lordship observed, that the disturbances in a neighbouring kingdom having driven a very considerable number of its inha bitants into this, it certainly was become a subject of serious consideration what should be done with them. Since his arrival in town he had attended a meeting of one of the charitable societies established for procuring these friendless foreigners relief; and he found that more than a month ago, there were near 8,000 persons of this description who had taken shelter in England. Their only resource was in the humanity and generosity of the English nation, which had certainly been nobly exercised in their behalf; but when he should state that the expense of supporting them amounted to nearly 1,000l. week, their lordships must be convinced, that the benevolence of individuals must soon become inadequate to the claims upon it, which were daily increasing. He had heard that ministers had it in contemplation to send these unfortunate refugees to the western part of Canada, there to give them grants of lands, and enable them to form settlements. He very much approved of the measure, but was of opinion, that, before it was carried into execution, this country ought to take some step to try what France might ultimately do for these poor people, whom might consent to receive them back again, or contribute to the means of their sup port in exile. How the opinion of France on this subject might be procured was the only difficulty that could be seen in the case. For his own part, he did not consider the difficulty as insurmountable; for we might do that to which he was sorry to find there was an objection-we might send a minister to Paris to treat directly on this head. His lordship said, that it was not for this purpose alone that he wished to have a communication with France: there was another object which interested every man of feeling, every man of virtue, justice, and humanity-he meant the impending fate of the unfortunate king of France, whom it must be the wish of every man in the nation, to save from the horrors of that fate which it was to be feared awaited him. He was not disposed to flatter that prince, though if flattery could ever be excusable, it would be when it was offered to a person in distress; but truth compelled him to say, that if ever prince had merits to plead with his people, it was Louis 16th. During a reign of sixteen years, it was his constant study to make them happy; and during that period he never once, till within the last six months, entertained a thought of consulting his own interest, as distinct from that of his subjects. Such a king was not a fit object for punishment, and to screen him from it every nation ought to interpose its good offices; but England, above all, was bound to do so, because he had reason to believe that what had encouraged the French to bring him to trial was the precedent established by England in the unfortunate and disgraceful case of Charles 1st. He believed at the same time that no nation could interpose with so much effect in behalf of the ill-fated monarch at Paris, as the English; for he was fully persuaded that the French entertained a high opinion of the judgment of the English, of their justice and of their honour, which had been so strongly manifested by the exact neutrality observed by the British government during the course of the French revolution. It was the duty of England to stand forward on this occasion, to prevent a catastrophe which probably would never have been thought of, had not she brought one of her monarchs to the block; and it was doubly their duty, as it was probable that, were she to negociate for the life of the unfortunate prince to whom he alluded, she would not negociate in vain. He was happy in having received the intelligence this day of a nature which gave him ground for hoping, that we should not be called upon to act hostilely against France; for by a letter from Holland he was assured that our allies, the Dutch, did not consider the opening of the Scheldt as a matter of such consequence, as to make them run the hazard of a war for the purpose of preventing it, and that they therefore had determined not to call upon England to assist her in maintaining the exclusive navigation of that river. He did not hesitate to pronounce this a wise determination; and he believed it would have been prudent had they never thought of shutting up the Scheldt. Every one knew that, down from the time of sir Wm. Temple, the great strength of Holland, the principal source of her wealth, was the fishery, for which Amsterdam was much more commodiously situated than Antwerp. He was not able to see how England had been brought to concur in shutting up rivers; for what nation could derive so much advantage from an open and free navigation, as that which carried on the most extensive trade in the world? Of late years a policy hostile to exclusion had begun to gain ground: in the treaty which he had had the fortune to conclude, and which put an end to the last war, he had not lost sight of this policy, for he had stipulated for a free navigation of the Mississippi, though the possessions which we had on its banks were so insignificant, as scarcely to be worth mentioning. It was from the navigation of the river, and not from these possessions, that he looked in time for solid advantages to the trade and prosperity of England. He rejoiced that the Dutch had given up the exclusive navigation of the Scheldt, not merely on account of the advantages which we might derive from the opening of it, but chiefly because we should by such a measure be freed from the necessity of going to war. In that case, therefore, ministers might not find it a difficult matter to reconcile it to their feelings, to open a communication with France, and negociate with her, not merely on our account, but on that of other powers of Europe actually at war, and endeavour to prevent the carnage and expense of another campaign. Austria and Prussia must have suffered so much from the last, as not to find it an easy matter to provide the means of carrying on another at so great a distance from the centre of their strength. Germany, he believed, was not prepared to resist the torrent of French opinions, even from the stations which the French armies at this moment occupied, and though they should proceed no farther. Prussia, he would venture to say, would soon return to her old prejudices in favour of an alliance with France, and negociate a peace. Austria would soon be without resources; for though she was usually strong when she was at war with the Turks, it was not the case when she was at war with France. The reason was obvious; for when she took the field against the former, her capital generally flowed back into her own country; but when she acted against the French, her money was spent at such a distance from home, that it was scarcely possible it should find its way back. One of the great causes of the present immense wealth of England, was the new system of keeping her capital at home, instead of sending it abroad to enrich the lands, commerce, and manufactures of foreign nations. Hence it was, that when there was a question of making canals, or opening a new road to speculation, the sums which individuals were ready to adventure were astonishingly great. These advantages would be lost by a foreign war, which would carry the capital out of the country, and enrich other powers at our expense. Our ministers should, therefore, be very careful how they encouraged Austria and Prussia to prosecute the present war, because it was impossible that those powers should be able to do so without our millions, which, once sent to Germany, would never find their way back to England. For these reasons he was strongly for adhering to the system of neutrality, hitherto observed by Great Britain. His voice was for peace abroad, and union at home; and for the attainment of these objects, he thought it would be sound policy in us to negociate with France. We were great, we were powerful: the French esteemed us, and consequently we might be sure that we should be able to negociate with effect. He had, with much care, drawn up two resolutions on two points, which he would strongly recommend to the serious consideration of their lordships. He had two objects in view; one was to save the life of an unfortunate and deserving an end, by granting them lands in the prince, which he trusted might be attain- | members of the French nation, as, on ed, when it should be known in France, various accounts, have taken refuge in that it was the unanimous wish of all de- this country, and for engaging their comscriptions of men in England that he passion in favour of so many thousands of should not suffer; the other, to try if it their countrymen, many of whom, unless was not possible to procure for the French some permanent measures be taken for refugees in this country some relief from their relief, must inevitably perish by the government of their own. Both ob- famine; and for expressing his majesty's jects he considered as attainable. With readiness to lend his royal assistance torespect to the former, he meant that who-wards the accomplishment of so desirable ever should be sent to France by his majesty should be allowed all the means likely to render his mission successful; he meant, he should be empowered to employ all means short of war to save France, to save Europe, to save human nature from the disgrace of the act which all would deplore, and every one would wish to avert. With respect to the refugees, he declared he was influenced by no one motive that was personal to himself. He must, however, acknowledge, that himself and his family, in common with all Englishmen of any distinction had experienced at the hands of many of those unfortunate people the greatest kindness, attention, and hospitality; to the French clergy in particular they were greatly indebted on this head; for it was well known by all foreigners, that in France it was chiefly the clergy who did the honours of the nation. These worthy and hospitable men, driven from their houses, and from their property had claims upon the generosity of Englishmen, which had been most handsomely admitted, and which, he trusted, would continue to be admitted until such time as France should become more just to a most deserving body of subjects, or until England should have furnished them with the means of forming settlements in Canada, and of thus providing for their future support.The noble marquis concluded by moving, 1. "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, praying that he may be graciously pleased to pursue such measures as in his wisdom he may deem meet, by sending a minister, or otherwise, to France, to represent his feelings for the unhappy situation of Louis 16th, and to use his best endeavours in exhorting them not to suffer any danger to arise to his person. 2. That an humble address be presented to his majesty, requesting that his majesty will be graciously pleased to take such measures as to his royal wisdom may seem meet, for conveying to the proper persons in France a representation of the deplorable state of such Lord Grenville said, that though the noble marquis had taken such pains to render the wording of his resolution unobjectionable, he never in his life heard words that conveyed so much horror to his mind as those which he had adopted. The manner in which the unfortunate monarch in question was described, was precisely that which was used by those who were at present heaping upon that amiable prince every species of indignity. The only appellation they gave him was that of "Louis 16th."-an appellation purposely meant to point out the man as distinct from the kingly office and dignity, which they themselves had sworn to maintain to him and to his posterity. This was not the way in which England was accustomed to treat the sovereigns of Europe; and he trusted their lordships would have too much regard for their own honour and for that of their country, to adopt the language of men whose actions were calculated to inspire horror and detestation. The objection which he had to the wording went also to the form, without which a negociation could not be carried on. He would suppose for a moment, but merely for the sake of argument, for he considered the thing as really untrue, that it was possible to find an Englishman so lost to a sense of honour, virtue, and humanity, as to undertake to negociate with persons of this description. He would ask to whom he should address himself, with whom should he negociate, where should he find the persons whom the fate of Louis 16th actually depends? He believed that any man who had attentively considered the fluctuation of affairs in France for some time past, would find it a very difficult matter to answer these questions. He had another substantial objection to the resolu tion, and that was, that, however guarded on |