Adence and degraded the dignity of the nation. He infifted upon the bad confequences that would arife to future arma ments from the conduct of the minifter; and concluded by afferting, that every fact, and every information on the table, justified him in voting, that the minifter had been guilty of grofs mifconduct.

The chancellor of the exchequer entered into the wisdom of continental alliances, and the maintenance of the balance of power, as a principle for the general happinefs of the world, and the prevention of wars, injuftice, and aggrandizement. He fhewed the importance of Turkey to the balance of Europe, the danger to which it had been expofed by the progrefs of the Imperial arms; and the intereft which this country and Holland had invariably taken in fupport of Turkey, from the period when the views of Ruffia were firft directed to innovate upon the poffeffions of the Porte, for the purpose of erecting herself into a maritime power. So far back as the reign of king William, England and Holland were the mediators of the peace of Carlowitz, and from that time to the present had acted as the mediators in every war between Ruffia and the Porte. He next entered into the importance of our alliance with Pruffia and Holland, and into the policy of the laft interference between Ruffia and the Porte, for the mutual fafety of each of the allies, whofe interefts were endangered by the progrefs Ruffia had made, to what had long been her object, the establishment of a power on the Black Sea. Were the permitted to obtain that object, the confequences could not be forefeen; for the would thereby be enabled to force herfelf into the fyftem of Europe as a formidable maritime power. He argued from her paft conduct toward this country, that, upon the most favourable view, the manner in which he might exercife that power, when gained, would be hazard

ous.

Was it politic, then, in the prefent maritime powers of Europe, to expofe themfelves to the confequences of her will, into which fcale fhe might think proper to throw the weight of her maritime ftrength? Upon thofe grounds he juftified the interference of this country in the war; an interference founded upon the principle of establishing a permanent peace. He was not afraid of having his conduct m nutely examined into, being convinced that the houfe would agree with

him, upon a comparifon of all the circumftances of the cafe, that he did his duty to his country in advifing the interference; and that he had alfo done his duty in advifing the object to be relin quifhed, which he first recommended. He ftated the divifion of the public opinion out of that houfe; the influence which might be made by the oppofition in that houfe, and other concurring circumftances, as fufficient ground to render that fubftantial policy to decline, which before was fubftantial policy to adopt. He contended, that the oppofition in that houfe had encouraged the emprefs to infift upon terms the otherwife would not have infifted upon, and that to fuch opposition was it folely owing that the negociation had not been attended with complete fuccefs. That oppofition, however honestly made, had given abundant reafon to the houfe to deplore its effects; for it had prévented the attainment, without a war, of objects which would have been of the greatest advantage to the country. The triumph of the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Fox) was a triumph over the interests and councils of his country, not a triumph over the enemies of his country. Such a triumph he no more envied him than he did the honours which he had received elsewhere. * Mr. Pitt then entered into a juftification of the continuance of the armament, until the terms of peace had been finally fettled; and afferted, in answer to the reports of this country haying inftigated the Turks to the war, and Sweden to join in it, that neither were founded in truth. The Turks had received no encouragement from England to commence the war, nor had Sweden any to join it. Equally untrue were the affertions of our unjust interference in the affairs of Brabant, and our deviation from any engagement with Pruffia: on the contrary, every engagement England had entered into, had honourably been abided by; and it would be found, that instead of our own conduct being reprobated by the Porte, the reverfe was the fact. He could not enter into any profeflions of the motives that had actuated his conduct; for the conduct of men was best to be afcertained by their actions, by the public opinion, and by the opinion of the majority of the reprefentatives of the nation. He placed his credit upon the advantages he fhould take, to render the peace of the country permanent, knowing well, that

on

on the permanency of its peace, its intereft was founded. As the truft he held, however, was a traft for pofterity, as well as for the advantages of the moment, he hould, as he valued the bleffing of peace, not avoid any danger that might arife to himself, by interrupting that peace whenever the exigencies of the times required it, for the purpose of ultimately fecuring the peace of the country upon a permanent foundation.

Mr. Fox rofe to explain; and, alluding to Mr. Pitt's afferting that he envied him not the honours he had received elfewhere, he faid, whenever any power in Europe paid him a compliment, he felt himfelf grateful for it, and it became the more acceptable to him, when from a Power which, in his opinion, was as naturally an ally to this country as Holland, and was a power with whom he had always confidered it to be the intereft of this country to be politically and commercially connected.

The question was then put upon the fr motion, That the poffeffion by Ruffia of Oczakow, and the diftrict between the Bog and the Dneister, did not affect the intereft of this country, or juftify the armament. Negatived without a divifion.

The question on the fecond motion, That the negociation between this country and Ruffia had been wholly unfuccefsful, was loft by the previous queftion being put and carried.

The third and laft motion was then put, That his majefty's minifters had been guilty of grofs mifconduct, tending to increafe the expence, and diminish the influence of Great Britain.'

The house divided, ayes, 116, nots, 224, majority 128.

On Wedn fday, March 7, in a committee of the whole houfe, Mr. Pitt flated that he fhould move two refolutions repecting a fuitable eftablishment for the duke and duchess of York. The first refolution would be, to enable his majeży to grant out of the consolidated fund the fun of 18,000l. annually, which, added to the 12,000l. already granted to the dluke of York out of the civil lift, and to 7,000l. which would be propofed in Ireland, would render the amount of his income 37,000l. The fecond refolution would be, for a provifion for the duche's of York, in cafe of her furviving his royal highnefs, for which he should propole as a jointure 8,000l. annually, to be defrayed out of the confolidated fund.

Mr. Fox faid, that confidering the blef fings derived from our invaluable constitution, and confidering monarchy as effential to that conftitution, it was proper to make a fuitable provifion for the maintenance of its dignity in every part. At prefent the prince, for whom they were about to provide, flood in fo close a relationfhip to the throne, that any dependence upon it could not be difagreeable; but a period might come when the relationship would be confiderably smaller. It was his with, therefore, that a principle might be laid down, to make fuch a provifion for the princes of the royal family, as might not render them, when related in a small degree to the throne, dependent upon the perfon who might happen to wear the crown, or dependent upon parliament. He confidered the fum now moved, merely as a life annuity: he stated the neceffity his royal highness was under, from his elevated rank, and from his alliance, to maintain a fplendid houfe in London ar.d in the country, which he was left to provide himself with, and with the complete fetting-out of his eftablishment in every part, without a fingle fhilling, except fuch as might be raised on his annuity, and which could not be railed but upon ufu. rious, or, at beft, very difadvantageous terms. The fum, he contended, was either too much, or too little; it was too much, if accompanied with a provifion of refidences, and a fum for fetting out with his establishment, and too little if not fo accompanied. He wished the house to lay down, as a principle, the voting smaller annuities, and the provifion of fuitable refidences, or a fufficient fum for their provifion. The prefent mode, he confidered to be, by involving princes in difficulties in their outlet, a temptation to make them bad ceconomists. If the alliance, entered into by his royal highness, should produce what the houfe, in their addreffes, always termed a further fecurity for the Proteftant fucceffion, the houfe would, by the prefent annuity expiring with the life of his royal highnefs, leave princes of the house of Brunfwick snprovided for, depending wholly upon the king, and upon the generofity of future parliaments. To this fituation they ought not to be exposed; fomething more permanent fhould be a dopted, was the opinion of many, that the king's civil lift was equal to a previfion for his family. This was a question that ought not to be palled over it was a question that ought to come before the houle. The civil lift must be too great,

or

or it must be too fmall. If equal to provide for the rifing branches of the royal family, it must have been too great previous to the neceffity for fuch a provifion; and if not competent, it must be roo fmall for the increase of expence occaHoned by fuch provifion.-He again contended for the neceffity of maintaining princes in their due rank, and againit their being placed in fuch fituations as might compel them to involve themfelves in difficulties. He concluded by faying, he would not propofe any amendment, becaufe he confidered every propofition for the provifion of princes, would beft come from the crown.

Mr. Pitt agreed with the right hon. gentleman, that every propofition for the provifion of a prince, ought to originate with the crown. In the fituation he stood, it would be prefumption to propofe further, than he had in command from his majefty; and not having received commands to offer further than he had offered, he held it not to be his right to do more. He agreed allo with the right hon. gentleman, that if the civil lift was now competent to make provifion for the rifing branches of the royal family, that it must have been too much before; but that it was not, he might fafely refer to the experience of the right hon. gentleman himfelf. Experience had for fome time fhewn that the expence upon the civil lift had been fuch as to render the fum for it not too much; and the house, in the laft feffion, by relieving unanimoufly the civil lift from the annuity of 12,000l. to his royal highness the duke of Clarence, and transferring it to the consolidated fund, at a time when the materials were before them to prove that the defired relief was reasonable and juft, afforded fufficient information to lead to conviction that it could not be adequate to the prefent provifion, which must be left to the generofity of the nation, and not to the civil lift. The prefent fum proposed was what his majesty had thought proper to requeft, in addition to the 12,000l. annually, which had been granted from the civil lift: future provifion was not neceffary on that day to be difcuffed: the time would certainly come when fuch difcuffion would be neceffary. He had no inftruction to propose any provifion for houses for his royal highness; but he wished to correct a mistake of the right hon. gentleman, in his affertion that his royal highness had no houses, and that he was fet out in his eftablishment without a shilling; the provifion now pro

pofed taking date for half a year back, and his royal highness, previous to his marriage, having been in poffeffion of a town and country refidence.

Mr. Fox reprefented the houses poffeffed by his royal highness to have been purchased neither out of the public money, nor by any actual payments he had been enabled to make: they were, in confequence, loaded with incumbrances. He concluded by admitting, that the civil lift was inadequate to the neceffary provifion for the younger branches of the family, but hoped, that in the provifion parliament fhould make for them, fome permanent principle might be laid down.

Mr. Burden moved an amendment, to omit the word eighteen, for the purpose of inferting ten.

Sir James Johnftone approved of the manner in which the annuity was propofed to be granted, as it rendered the for dependent upon the father, and enabled the father to destroy the effect of any contract upon that annuity with Jews, or with ufurers. The hon. baronet was defirous that the house fhould be acquainted with the revenues of the bishopric of Of naburgh, being convinced, that when they were added to the other fums intended to be granted to his royal highness, his fituation would appear evidently fuperior to that of the fon of any other fovereign in Europe.

Mr. Fox faid, he never had heard it even furmifed that parliament had the leaft right to enquire into the revenue of the king arifing from his electorate of Hano ver: equally unjust would it be, to examine into the foreign poffeffions of his royal highnefs. The hon. gentleman [Mr. Burden] who had proposed the amendment, having not given a reafon for lowering the annuity, and not having propofed a provifion for a refidence, or an adequate fum, he fhould certainly object to the amend ment.

Mr. Burden gave as a reafon for propofing his amendment, an opinion that the country was not in a fituation to bear, as a precedent, the higher fum.

Mr. Pitt, in reply to arguments advanced against the propofed annuity, as a principle for the piovifion of other branches of the royal family, faid, he had not brought it forward as any fuch principle; the near fituation of his royal highness to the crown, and his alliance, might make that moderate and proper, which to another, differently fituated, might be exceffive and improper."

Sir

fent day he fhould fubmit to a committee his propofitions for a new bill for accele rating the payment of the national debt, and as the principle upon which his refo lutions were founded was likely to be adopted, he would not trouble the com mittee further than by merely ftating the refolutions he fhould move, as it might be more agreeable and convenient to difcufs them when a bill founded thereon fhould be before the houfe. He con cluded by reading two refolutions, the first of which went to continue the effect of the finking fund for the reduction of the na tional debt, fubfequent to the period when the intereft of the money in the finking fund fhould amount to four millions annually; and the fecond, to prevent any future permanent burdens on the country, by enacting, that a provision should be made for the fpeedy payment of every loan entered into, or that an additional fum, in proportion to the loan fo bor rowed, fhould be fet apart for the reduction of the whole national debt.

The question being put on each refo+ lation, they were agreed to, and the house was refumed.

"

Mr. Fox then faid, he held in his hand a petition from a great number of perfons, complaining of the grievances under which they laboured, by the acts of the 9th and 10th of king William, and by a claufe in the Toleration Act, which fubjected to fevere penalties all who did not agree with the doctrine of the Trinity, according to the Thirty-nine Articles. The petition was figned by 1600 perfons, fome of whom were Unitarians, fome Arians, befide many refpectable Churchmen and Diffenters, who were averfe to penalties for religious opis nions, and whofe liberality induced them to petition upon the ground of toleration, and the freedom of religious enquiry.

The petition was brought up and read: it concluded by praying, that leave might be granted to bring in a bill to repeal the acts and the claufe complained against.

Mr. Fox again rofe; and though not at prefent prepared to fubmit to the house any motion upon the petition, he fhould feel it his duty, he faid, before much time elapfd, to fubmit a propofition to the house. In fuch propofition, fhould he confult his own feelings, it would go much farther than the prayer of the petition; for it would go to a general fweeping away of all the penal laws on our statute books against religious opinions, being convinced that thofe laws had been enacted

upon falfe principles; and if upon particular circumftances, or upon what might have been confidered political expediency, that thofe circumstances and that expedi ency no longer had an existence.

In the relief honourably granted by the house, in the last feffion, to the Roman Catholics, it had been his wish to have the whole of the penal acts against them, which difgraced our ftatute-books, expunged. Actuated by the fame with, the courfe he should take, if the house per mitted him, would be, to move for a repeal of all the penal laws against religious opinions; and when fuch bill had gone the length of a committal, gentlemen might ftate the laws they confidered necessary to remain. Should this mode, however, be objected to, he would propofe only the repeal of the laws complained against in the prefent petition. He concluded by faying, he should bring forward a propofition on the fubject on an early day.

On Thursday March 15, Major Mait❤ land rose to move certain refolutions ref pecting the war in India. He doubted not, he faid, before he fat down, to be ena bled to prove, that the war was founded in injuftice and impolicy, and likely to be terr minated by confequences tending to the ruin of our fettlements. The points to which the hon. gentleman wifhed particularly to draw the attention of the houfe, were; first, to the letter from Lord Cornwallis, to the Nizam, dated July 7, 1789, which was, in his opinion, as grofs an inftance of duplicity and juggle as ever difgraced this country. The fecond was, to the original object of fending British troops into the Travancore country; and the next, to the mode of procuring money to conduct the war.

To provide for the expences of the war, poffeffion had been taken of the territories of the Nabob of Arcot and Tanjore, which act had exceeded in turpitude every one of thofe committed by the perfon now expiating his crimes at the bar of the houfe of lords. He contended, that the ruin of the Myfore government would he the ruin of the British interefts in India, by deftroying the barrier between us and the Mahrattas. He entered upon the treaty of 1768, which was entered into between the company, the Mahrattas, and the Nizam, for the purpose of checking the rapid increafe of the power of Hyder Ally. The treaty of 1769, he faid, invalidated that of 1768, which was now, however, by lord Cornwallis' letter, raked from the duft with which it had been covered for 20