England against Spain. Will the plaufible, smooth-tongued French likewife be able to lull us into a fatal fecurity againft the evidence of all hiftory? Can we expect to be treated by them in any other manner than the Spaniards were at the time of the famous revolt of Portugal? The French sent whole regiments, completely officered, into the fervice of the house of Braganza. They paid them underhand the fame as their national troops, yet all the while declared their abhorrence of rebellions and of rebels, iffuing proclamation after proclamation, and recalling their deferters under the moft fevere penalties. Sir, there is not a power in Europe, unfubfidized by Great-Britain, which does not with fuccefs to the Americans; and we are confidered almoft every where on the continent, in the odious light of tyrants and oppressors. The fpeech, Sir, ftates, that "if treafon be fuffered to take root, much mischief muft grow from it to the safety of my loyal colonies." Alas! Šir, what we call treason and rebellion, and they juft refiftance and a glorious refolution, has taken root, a very deep root indeed, and has spread over almoft all the American colonies. In this very speech we are told of their numbers, their wealth, their ftrength by fea and land. The loyal colonies are three, the free provinces thirteen. In laying on the embargo, the exception to the rule is ridiculous enough. It is as thirteen to three. The Gazette fays, "any of my colonies in North Ame rica, except the colonies of New-Hampshire, Maffachufet'sBay, Rhode-Ifland, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennfylvania, the three low countries on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia. Of what other colonies was his Majefty in poffeffion at his acceffion to the throne; I think the permiffion extends only to the provinces, which we have not yet loft, to the two Roman Catholic provinces of Canada and Florida, and to Nova Scotia. We have now been carrying on for two years a favage and piratical, as well as an unjuft, war. Every demand of government has been complied with, and yet the great force employed both by fea and land has not hitherto recovered a fingle province of all the confederated colonies. On the contrary, the evil grows more defperate. The laft year only twelve colonies humbly petitioned the throne. This year, by the acceffion of Georgia, we have feen a foederal union of thirteen free and powerful provinces afferting their independency independency as high and mighty ftates, and fetting our power at defiance. This was done with circumftances of fpirit and courage, to which pofterity will do juftice. It was directly after the fafe landing of your whole force. In return we have barbarously plundered their coafts, and fet fire to their open towns and defenceless villages, in a manner which difgraces the English name. In the midst of all the cruelties, terrors, and devastations, which follow your arms, the fpirit of the Americans is ftill unfubdued, and I hope, and believe, you never will conquer the free fpirit of the defcendants of Englishmen, exerted in an honeft caufe. They honour and value the bleffings of liberty. They are determined to live and die freemen, notwithstand the vain ef forts of every arbitrary power in Europe. It is a foolish attempt to think of conquering and holding the immense territory of North America, when the whole country is united against us. We argue in a trifling manner on the decifive good confequences for events only in the province of New York. They do not prove that we shall subdue Virginia, or either of the Carolinas. Succefs in two or three battles or fieges, argues little for the final fuccefs of a war, fo extenfive already, and fo greatly complicated. As to our unanimity at home, Sir, the very idea is ab furd, because impoffible, while the prefent fyftem of injuftice and oppreffion continues in its full rigour. The Ame rican war is unjuft, and unconstitutional in its first principle, and, if perfifted in, muft end in our ruin. We have neither force to conquer, nor ftrength to maintain, fuch extenfive conquefts, if we could fucceed. Our fituation is become truly critical. The conftitution of this country is at home fapped by bribery and corruption. On the other fide of the Atlantic it is affailed by violence and force of arms. The too fatal fuccefs in this devoted nation is very evident, but in the new world, I truft, as a friend of mankind, that all the defpotic meafures of a tyrannical adminiftration will prove ineffectual. It is impoffible for this ifland to conquer and hold America. They are determined and united. Your. fleets may indeed every year carry horror through all their coafts.. Your armies may poffefs fome fea-port towns, but the numerous and greatly increafing people of the provinces will retire into the interior parts, of which you have already had fome experience. Peaceful towns and villages will cover their fruitful plains, liberty will fix her bleft abode among VOL. VI. D them, Hon. Tem them, the unmolested, happy inhabitants rejoicing that they are procul a fove, procul a fulmine. I heartly agree, Sir, with the noble Lord in the amendment propofed; but I go farther, and my opinion is, that if we expect to fave the empire, to preferve, even for a short period, Canada or the West India iflands, or to recover any part of the immenfe territory we have lately loft, we muft recall our fleets and armies, repeal all the acts injurious to the Americans paffed fince 1763, and reftore their charters. We may then, if they will forgive, and can truft us, treat with them on juft, fair, and equal terms, without the idea of compulfion, and a foundation be laid for the restoration of peace, internal tranquility, and unity to this convulsed and difmembered empire. Hon. Temple Luttrell. He faid that, he fo very widely pie Luttrell differed in opinion from the honourable member on the other fide of the Houfe, who moved the minifterial addrefs, in commendation of his Majefty's fpeech delivered from the throne, that he should feel himself highly culpable, were he to fit ftill till the clofe of the' debate, and content himself to be numbered with the filent votes in its disfavour; there was, however, no doubt of its being carried by a large majority; for thofe court-retainers and dependants on governnent, who had this campaign reaped a golden harvest from the calamities of their country, would fee in the speech under confideration, the beft earneft that could poffibly be given of a no lefs plentiful harveft of the fame fort the enfuing fummer. As to his part, he conftrued this speech, an infamous groundlefs libel, fabricated by a tyrannical faction, against iome of the most valuable members of the Britith community, who, actuated by principles of justice and honour, were nobly contending on the other fide of the Atlantic, for the dearcft rights of mankind; and who, limiting their refiftance to a redrels of real and effential grievances, were talicly accused of having, from the beginning of this unhappy conteit, had no other object in view than anarchy and independence. It was a custom among the antient Perfians (in later times adopted in the kingdom of Naples) to cover their tribunals of justice with the ikins of corrupt lawyers, whom they flayed alive---were a fimilar example to prevail within these walls, and the feats around us to be cloathed with the ikins of corrupt fatetimen, I fear, Sir, there are not a few gentlemen on your right-hand would catch their deaths of cold before the end of the approaching winter: I fhould tremble this night for a long group of penfioners, contractors, pay-mafters, treasurers, &c. &c. who will walk forth into that lobby, in order to bring up an addrefs to their fovereign, befeeching that he will perfevere to plunder and affaffinate his fubjects, and totally to extinguish the vital spirit of that free conftitution, on the maintenance of which alone, refts his claim to the throne of these realms. The honourable member near me [Governor Johnstone] has juftly obferved, that "the addrefs moved for by government is an echo of the fpeech" impofed on their royal master; it occurs to me, Sir, that the fpeech itself is, in many of its most striking paffages, an echo to the continental_remonftrances, and declarations of independency---for inftance--"They have rejected, with infult and indignity, every offer of accommodation;" this is verbatim the charge brought against the mother-country by the oppreffed colonifts. They likewife declare, that "it would be rash to put an end to their plan, when they have every reafon to purfue it ;"---that "it is a conteft of the last importance"---" a war, not of ambition, but necefity"---Good God, Sir! ftate this argument, on our part, in other language, without perverting the fenfe, and it will ftand thus---You are ambitious to maintain the rights of freeborn Britons, and 'tis neceffary we should have an army of foreign affaffins, and ufe every barbarity to render them flaves. Omnipotence on one fide, Sir, muft imply flavery on the other. When news was brought to Agefilaus, king of Sparta, during a civil war in Greece, that a bloody fight had happened near the city of Corinth, but that the Spartans were victorious, and the number of their troops killed was but inconfiderable, compared with the lofs of the enemy, instead of exultations of joy, that wife and humane monarch, with a deep figh, cried out, "Oh, unhappy Greece ! to have flain fo many of thy beft warriors with thine own hand, who, had they lived, might have proved a match for all the barbarians in the world!" I am credibly informed, Sir, that when our moft gracious fovereign received news of the unhappy conflict at Long-ifland, he broke forth in an exclamation of a like philofophic and generous nature, lamenting, that Great Britain fhould deftroy fo many of her brave men with her own hand, who had they lived in mutual concord and amity, might have fet at defiance the united force of our natural enemies, the Bourbon ftates, at this hour threatening us D 2 with an invafive war. Confident as I was, that fuch ideas perfectly coincided with his Majefty's known humanity of heart, and tenderness towards all his people, I did not conceive it poffible that the moft flagitious minifter of the bloody junto would dare to advise a continuance of thefe difgraceful and ruinous measures, and propose a speech from the throne, evidently dictated by defpotifm, hypocrify, and infatuation. I, Sir, entertained hopes of healing propofitions, and a timely direliction, on the part of this country, of its unjuftifiable and empty claim of taxation; that efficient cause of the civil war, and which, if made an irrefragable ultimatum of your terins of peace, connot fail to accelerate the downfall of your empire. For the Commons of Great Britain to fupport fo defperate a purpofe at the point of the fword; at the prefent alarming crifis too; the French and Spaniards preparing for a rupture, and the nation finking under an enormous debt of 150,000,000, argues folly in us beneath the unlettered Parliament, madness beyond the infane Parliament, and a bloodthirsty spirit of enterprize above any of the profcribing, chivalrous Parliaments, under the worst of the Plantagenet-tyrants. I may, perhaps, be told, as I was laft year, when I took the liberty to move an addrefs to the King, to inftruct the commiffioners in America to treat for peace with the provincial conventions, or general continental congrefs, that, bodies of men under denominations not formally legallized, can in no poffible fituation of things, expect a public recog nition of their authority; nor can you treat with rebels while they have arms in their hands. From what knowledge of men or books is this ftate-maxim derived? I defy any of the learned gentlemen over the way to inftance any inteftine.commotion, from the beginning of the world to this moment, of equal magnitude and maturity with that of America, where fuch wild doctrines have been maintained. In fupport of directly oppofite meafures and policy, without recurring to æras very remote, or troubling the Houfe with ftale pedantic refearches, I fhall beg leave to remind you of one or two remarkable precedents from modern hiftory, where the proudest and moft perverfe potentates in Chriftendom have been taught an humbler and more rational leffon; and I inean to hold up in terrorem, their obftinate tyranny, and the calamities refulting from it, to themselves and their dominions, that thefe aliena pericula may ferve for beacons to preserve us from a fimilar fate. About |