He faid, notwithstanding fuch favourable profpes, it could not but be lamented that there was a neceffity of ftill farther adding to our debt; the country had, however, the confolation to obferve, that the fources of wealth had not been impaired by the war; that commerce and manufactures were never more flourishing; that public credit was high; that the preffure of the late taxes was little felt; and that the principle of liquidation had fo accompanied the new debt, as to make it lefs to be regretted. Such a picture of refources, compared with the annihile ed commerce, manufactures, credit, taxes, currency, of the eneiny, every thing which constitutes wealth or ftrength, gave the Houle the ftrongeft affurance that perfeverance muft enfure fuccefs.

As the arguments in favour of immediate negociation were not to be maintained, he was prepared to hear the other fide of the Houfe indulge in lamenting the difafters of the campaign on the Continent; the reverfes we had experienced in that quarter, and the feparation of feveral powers from the alliance, certainly afforded just grounds for regret; yet notwithstanding its difafters, the war on the Continent had been the great means of reducing the enemy, by neceffitating an expence which no country could long fupport. It was the preffure in that quarter which took the fting from Jacobinifm, and made it comparatively harmlefs; it was not till after France was materially exhaufted, and incapable of acting on her original principles, that Pruflia made peace; and from that time the war, like all former wars, had been rather a ftruggle for territory, than a crufade for the propagation of the rights of man. The feparate peace made by the fmaller states of Germany, particularly Hanover, he expected to hear obferved. upon; but however the conduct of the Elector of Hanover might furnish a topic for declamation, it never could be gravely adduced as a reason that other powers, not fimilarly expofed, fhould follow an example which ncceffity, not choice, might have dictated. Upon the whole, the war on the Continent had exhaufted the enemy, and enabled us to employ our navy more offenfively in the different quarters of the globe, much more than we could have done had the French army been unemployed, and stationed along the oppofite coaft. In fact, the money we had expended on the Continent contributed as efficiently to our naval fuccefs as any money laid out upon the fleet itfelf. The lofs of Holland was a fevere blow, but a misfortune caufed rather by the feafon, than the arms of the enemy; and notwithstanding France was in poffeffion of that country, fo flow were the Dutch in their imitation of French politics, it was clear that the new principles were un

congenial, and that Holland, when the French troops were withdrawn, would return to their old habits.

Such had been the reverses of the war; it had not, however, been without its triumphs; and as far as it depended upon Great Britain as a nation, it had been particularly glorious. Never, in any former war, had our naval fuperiority been fo decifive; and never had the maritime power of France been fo completely crushed. Our fuperiority on all the principal stations had been uninterrupted, and our commerce, confidering its extent, had suffered but little. The French had been expelled from the East Indies, and our poffeffions in the West Indies been extended; an armament was now prepared to act in that part of the world, which promised such extensive advantages, as would enable us to teach the enemy, that if they were not prepared to be entirely excluded from the Colonial advantages of the Weft Indies, they must return within their former limits in Europe.

Having the ftrongest conviction of the original justice of the war, and fecing, as he did, notwithstanding fome difafters which no war was exempt from, the beft profpects of a favourable iffue from a fteady and vigorous perfeverance in the conteft, he felt an entire confidence that His Majefty's Minifters would feize the first practicable occafion of concluding a peace. Had the Minifter been led, by the fuggeftions of thofe who differed from him, to infift upon the establishment of any particular form of government in France, or had he efpoufed the caufe of any particular class of emigrants, a doubt might arife whether it was our own or their cause which was now at iffue; but the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) having diftinétly avowed at all times that it was fecurity for Great Britain, and not a government for France which he contended for, he felt affured that no practicable occafion of treating would be neglected; and that is, the Minifter was himfelf, (if a perfonal feeling could be fuppofed to operate) in his mind, the individual in the nation most interested in not going to war, fo he was the perfon moft powerfully called upon by every feeling to make peace, when it could be done with fecurity and honour.

He trufted, no pictures which might be drawn of military difafters would shake the national energy, convinced, as he was, that a fhort time longer would fecure every object we had contended for, and that Great Britain would have the honour of fettling, as it already had the glory of faving, Europe, by its firmness in refifting the arms and principles of France; he concluded by feconding the addrefs.

The SPEAKER proceeded to read the addrefs, which being concluded,

Mr. SHERIDAN rofe, and began by ftating, that it was not his intention to have rifen fo early to deliver his opinion; but observing that not a fingle gentleman evinced a wish to speak, he could not prevail upon himself to remain filent. Indeed, he was not furprised at the dumb aftonishment with which the Speech had been heard for if ever there was a Specch calculated to excite aftonishment and furprife, it was the prefent. He would venture to fay, that if any perfon could have previoufly known the Speech, and had written to any part of England or Scotland, they would not have found a fingle man who would not have been surprised at the first noun fubftantive in the Speech being fatisfaction, or at that fubftantive being ufed in any other part of the Speech. It was faid to be the mark of a refigned and religious temper, to be cafily fatisfied. If that were true, there never were Ministers of more meek and primitive piety than the prefent. For what they had been fatisfied by he knew not. Had the mover or feconder of the addrefs told the Houfe? Our fituation had, it was afferted, experienced confiderable improvement fince last year; the first improvement was on the fide of Italy, but it was not remembered, that at the period alluded to the Republicans had not penetrated into Italy; the fecond confifted in a report of a check which the French had experienced on the other fide of the Rhine. He wished it might prove true, but, at prefent, he believed it refted on no better authority than a French newfpaper. The army of the Rhine, however, had not last year crofled the Rhine; and now they were only prevented from advancing to the Danube, and obliged to limit their progrefs to the German fide of the Rhine, where they were likely to spend the winter. Had any improvement occurred with respect to the fituation of this country with Holland? The Dutch were in perfect alliance with France, and England was at war with Holland. Laft year Pruffia had been an ally of Great Britain; yet though His Pruffian Majefty had departed from the alliance, the rest of the allies would, it was maintained, prove fteady to the cause. What had been the fact? Spain had been loft to the coalition. Was this an improvement in the fituation of the country? Last year several islands had been conquered in the West Indies. This year the fituation of the country had been improved by the lofs of two, and by the imminent danger in which the rest were involved. Had the fituation of the country at home been improved? Latt year the Minifter had treated with fcorn the idea of a fcarcity of grain; yet now, the VOL. LXIII.

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people were informed in the fpeech from the throne, that there was a prospect of another famine not lefs fevere than the last, and this was to be confidered as an improvement. He was really furprized, how Ministers could have the front to put fuch words into the mouth of His Majefty, and that they could fuffer the King when he passed through his starving and oppreffed, and forry was he to hear, irritated and clamorous people, to come down to the House and exprefs his fatisfaction.

If the profpect of peace was near, fome compenfation would be made for thofe evils; but gentlemen ftill clung, he faid, to their old fyftem. By a reference to the fpeech of the year before last, he found that His Majefty faid, "peace could alone be obtained by a fuccessful termination of the conteft." Was the country now, he would afk, in the courfe of a fuccefsful termination of the conteft, or since that period, have we met with any thing but difgrace and defeat? How different from what is laid down in that speech, is the argument of the gendeman who feconded the addrefs: he fays, "the more the French conquer, the more they increase their internal diftrefs, and from that diftrefs, are we to look forward to a better order of things." In the fpeech of laft feffion, His Majefty held out fome hopes of peace, which he was afraid could not be drawn from the prefent; he there fays, "that it is impoffible to contemplate the prefent frate of affairs without indulging a hope that they must produce a government capable of maintaining the accustomed relations of peace and amity with other powers." In the prefent fpeech His Majchy only flates, that "the distraction and anarchy which have fo long prevailed in that country, have led to a crifis, of which it is impoffible as yet to foresee the iffle." A very juft caufe of fatisfaction truly; that is as much as to fay, that it is impoffible to fee any benefit that may arife from this crisis; but it is to produce confequences that will be important to the interefts of Europe. When thefe confequences are to arrive, and what they are to be, we know not;, but they are in spirit a little stolen from Partridge's almanack, the predictions in which are, "that the next year will produce most important events, of which all thofe who are then alive will be witneffes." In this speech then there is not any wellfounded ground for the hope of peace; and we are now exactly in the fame state as when His Majefty delivered his most gracious Speech of last year, minus the hope of peace. "If," faid Mr. Sheridan, "I were to judge of His Majefty's Speech according to the letter of our conftitution, as coming from the King himself, and not in fact, and according to the fpirit of that constitution, as the speech of the Minister; I think it contains a rational source of

fatisfaction to His Majefty individually. As Elector of Hanover, he certainly did right to make peace in that capacity; and if he could have the fame feelings and opinions about Great Britain, and confult the fame advifers, it would afford matter of joy to every body. I have often heard," faid Mr. Sheridan, "of a confiderable degree of jealoufy being entertained by the people of Great Britain, when the King has brought into this country his Hanoverian troops; I would therefore humbly propofe, that His Majefty may keep his troops at home, but inftead thereof, import fome of his Hanoverian counsellors, and fend his British Minifters to Hanover; and the people of this country fo far from entertaining a jealoufy on that occafion, would pour forth a profufion of acknowledgements, and furround his throne with bleffings for the change of his advifers." In another part of his Majefty's Speech, he mentions the co-operations of the juft, benevolent, and pious Emprefs of Ruffia; this, certainly, is a fource of great fatisfaction; fhe has moft generoufly furnished us with a fleet to protect our coaft, to confume English provifions, and to learn British difcipline. With regard to our profpect of important confequences to arife from the crifis in France, thefe important confequences, it feems, are to be derived out of their diftreffes. Not that they are likely to become better citizens, better Chriftians, more humane or more enlightened, but of their prefent bad fyftem, we may look to a change, and the establishment of good government from their diftreffes. That good government should rife out of diftrefs, was a kind of hope which he applauded; and he wished the reafoning were extended to England: for furely, if from great diftreffes good government fhould arife, the people of England were in the high road of having a good government. The next caufe of fatisfaction was the profpect of the fucceffes likely to happen in the West Indies. Hitherto there has been no cause of satisfaction in that quarter; and if he was to put his finger on the most disgraceful of the dark catalogue of defects in the conduct of Minifters during the prefent war, he could not find any more confpicuous than those which regard the West Indies. An honourable gentleman had mentioned it to the praife of Minifters, that they did not bind themselves by fpecific declarations, nor had they any particular view. This, indeed, was strange praife; but if it was praife, he joined in it, and was ready to confefs that he never knew the right honourable gentleman pledged to any one fixed principle. In the commerce of the world, that man was generally, but perhaps mistakenly, reputed worthy of confidence, who stuck to plain dealing, and who declared his objects, and acted upon them with confiftency and perfeverance.