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URING the long recefs, with which the members of parliament were this year indulged, Great Britain continued to enjoy an undifturbed tranquillity and repofe; for it is fcarcely neceffary to except the momentary alarm, occafioned by the danger, to which the perfon of the fovereign was expofed from the attempt of a miferable lunatic, as related in our laft volume; nor that conteft of loyalty and affection, which it called forth amongst every clafs and defcription of his fubjects. On the 29th of September a treaty of commerce and navigation with France was figned at Verfailles by Mr. Eden, to whom the negotiation of that measure had been entrufted on the part of Great Britain. We fhall forbear making any other remark upon this new and important event, than that it appears to have caufed much alarm and apprehenfion among ft the manufacturing part of the French nation: its expediency and policy, with refpect to this country, will be found amply difcuffed in the proceedings of the British parliament.

The ftate of political parties remained also without any confiderable variation. The right hon. Charles Jenkinson was advanced to the dignity of a peer of Great Britain, and made chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, and prefident of the board of trade, and, though not admitted in form to a feat in his majefty's cabinet councils, was fuppofed to be confidentially confulted upon all affairs of importance; the

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earl Gower was made marquis of Stafford, and lord Camden an earl; and the duke of Athol, earl of Abercorn, duke of Montague (with remainder to the fecond fon of the duke of Buccleugh) the duke of Queenfbury, earl of Tyrone,earl of Shannon, lord Delaval, fir Harbord Harbord, and fir, Guy Carleton, were created peers of Great Britain. On the 23d of January 23d Jan. his majefty opened the fourth feffion of the 1787. fent parliament by a fpeech from the throne, in which,after mentioning the friendly difpofition of foreign powers towards this country, he informed the two houfes, that he had concluded a treaty of commerce with the French king, and had ordered a copy of it to be laid before them. He recommended, as the first object of their deliberations, the neceffary measures for carrying it into effect; and expreffed his truft, that they would find the provifions contained in it to be calculated for the encouragement of induftry, and the extenfion of lawful commerce in both countries; and, by promoting a beneficial intercourfe between their respective inhabitants, likely to give additional permancy to the bleflings of peace.

To the house of commons he recommended the ftate of the revenue as a conftant object of their attention; and expreffed his hopes tha fome regulations would, in this feffion, be carried into effect for the ease of the merchants, and for fimplifying the public accounts.

The

The ufual addreffes were moved and seconded, in the house of lords by the earl of Rochford and lord Dacre, and in the lower houfe by lord Compton and Mr. Matthew Montague, the member for Bofliney. As they contained nothing but matters of mere compliment to the king, they paffed without oppofition; but in the houfe of commons Mr. Fox thought himself bound to take notice of fome general principles which had been lain down by the propofers of the addrefs, apparently as the ground upon which it was intended to defend the treaty, that had lately been concluded with the court of Verfailles. He obferved that much stress had been laid upon certain propofitions, which he readily admitted were in themselves incontrovertible; -- that peace, for inftance, was preferable to war, and commerce to conqueft, and that mutualjealoufies were the caufe of frequent mischiefs; but he denied that they were any way peculiar ly applicable to our circumftances at the prefent moment. They were principles, he faid, upon which the government of this country had been uniformly and wifely conducted for the last century; but it remained to be seen how far they would juftify any innovation in the eftablished fyftem of our policy, fhould the treaty, which was foon to become the fubject of their confideration, contain in fact fuch innovation. All the wars of Great Britain had been wars of neceffity; and that jealoufy of the power of France, which we were now called upon to lay afide, had been founded upon the fulleft experience of her ambitious defigns. Where then was the neceffity of inculcating forbearance upon thofe who had never acted wantonly, or

the prudence of arguing against a jealoufy, to which we owed our very fafety?

He deprecated the imputation of being governed by vulgar prejudices, but at the fame time he declared it to be his opinion, that the external circumftances of the two nations rendered a rivalfhip and, in fome degree, an enmity between them inevitable, and that it was impoffible to prevent them by any meafure which human fpeculation could devife-Nay, he would not hefitate to pronounce, that were fuch an event poffible, it was not to be withed for by any lover of this country.

The treaty, he said, must be either commercial, or partly commercial and partly political; and in one or other of thefe points of view. its merits were to be eftimated. If, as he fincerely wifhed, it was a mere commercial treaty, the framers of it had only to prove that the new channel of trade which it opened would not obftruct or would be more beneficial than all the other ancient channels, which this kingdom had long been in poffeflion of, and which had been found to be the fources of her commercial wealth and profperity but if, on the other hand, minifters avowed that the treaty was intended as a political measure, and that they had in view fome more clofe and intimate connection with France, fuch as fhould render it in future more difficult for the two countries to go to war than heretofore, they then would have to fhew ftrong and fatisfactory reafons for having purfued and concluded a measure fo new in the hiftory of these kingdoms, and of such infinite magnitude and importance. He faid, he might venture how[E] 2

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ever to prophefy, that fuch an attempt, admitting it to be fafe and prudent, would prove vain and abortive. Upon this ground he took a general view of the political conduct of France towards this country, and towards the other powers of Europe. However volatile and inconftant the French nation may be fuppofed to be, the French cabinet, heremarked, had been for centuries the most steady and uniform in Europe. To raife that monarchy to unlimited power had been its unvarying aim; and he defied any man to point out an inftance in which that court had let flip any opportunity which seemed to have the least tendency, however remote in appearance, to promote its favourite object.

He demanded what reafons there were to fuppofe that France had abandoned the purpose the had fo long and uniformly aimed at. Her power, he contended, was at this moment greater than in the reign of Louis XIV.; and could any ffatefman be dupe enough to believe that moderation, at a moment when moderation feemed leaft neceffary, was the real and true motive that had induced France to accede to a treaty, which held forth the fpecious appearance of rendering all future hoftilities between her and Great Britain almost impoffible to happen?

But perhaps his majefty's minifters would furnish the house with fome explicit and pofitive proofs of this great change in the politics of France, and of the fincerity of her friendly difpofition towards us. They might, as yet, be faid to be in the honey-moon of their new connection; and he asked whether,

during that fond period, they felt the influence of France greatly operating in their favour with those powers,with whom they were now negociating alliances? Did it manifeft itfelf in the court of Vienna, in the court of Spain, in the court of Petersburg, or at the Hague? He believed the very reverse was well known to be the fact.

But there was another circumftance which deferved their most serious confideration. The army of France was formerly the first in Europe: it was now but the fourth, being inferior to thofe of Ruffia, Prufia, and the emperor. On the other hand, her navy was daily increafing, and to that object her whole attention was directed. Was this a favourable fymptom of her friendly difpofition towards this country? Did it indicate any extroardinary partiality towards Great Britain? Did it not clearly prove that her confidence was placed upon her continental alliances, and that he was looking forward to and preparing for fome favourable opportunity of indulging her inveterate animofity against her ancient enemies?

There remained but one suppofition, upon which the ardour, that had appeared for a clofe political connection with France, could be accounted for. He acquitted the first minifter of the charge he was going to make; but he believed there were men in this country fo loft to the memory of its former greatnefs, fo funk in their own bafe defpondency, as to think it right for us, diminished as our fplendour was, to feize the earliest opportunity of making terms with our rifing neighbour, of forming an

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intimate connection with her, and by that means artfully fecuring her favour and protection.

Mr. Fox concluded his fpeech with fome obfervations upon the effects, which the new treaty would have upon the treaty fubfifting between Great Britain and Portugal. The Methuen treaty, he obferved, was juftly a favourite of this nation: it had been productive, during the courfe of near a century, of the most important benefits; and he therefore trufted, that before parliament would fanction any new engagements, that might endanger fo fure and tried a fource of commercial advantage, they would require from his majefty's minifter the fulleft fatisfaction upon that effential article.

Mr. Pitt, in reply to Mr. Fox, charged him with the moft fhamelefs inconfiftency, in giving his affent to an addrefs, againft the greateft part of which he had been arguing with all the force of his eloquence. He hoped however, for the fake of unanimity in their proceedings, that he would purfue the fame line of conduct through the reft of the feffion; and that whenever he fpoke against the measures of government, he would always think it prudent to vote for them. As to his apprehenfions of being thought to be governed by vulgar prejudices, they were quite unneceffary, as his opinions were fo far from being vulgar, that he believed he was the only perfon in the whole kingdom who entertained them.

Mr. Pitt then proceeded to combat the principles laid down by Mr. Fox, which went, he faid, to prove the neceffity and the policy of a conftant animofity with France.

Thefe doctrines, he contended, militated in the moft direct manner against both humanity and common fenfe. He afked, whether he meant to recommend to this country fuch a fpecies of political jealoufy as fhould be either mad or blind; fuch afpecies, as fhould induce her either madly to throw away that which was to make us happy, or blindly to grasp at that, which muft end in her ruin? Was the neceflity of perpetual animofity with France fo evident and fo preffing, that for it we were to facrifice every commercial advantage we might expect from a friendly intercourfe with that country; or was a pacific connection between the two kingdoms fo highly offenfive, that even an extenfion of commerce could not palliate it? For his part, he could by no means join in opinion with the right honourable gentleman, that the fituation of Great Britain and France was fuch, as precluded the poffibility of an amicable intercourfe; and he was fure, if fuch intercourfe was not abfolutely in practicable, the treaty now depending was the moft likely of any measure to effect it. Such a treaty would make it the intereft of each nation to cherith and preserve the connection between them, and would fo effentially implicate and unite the views and convenience of a large part of each kingdom, as to enfure, as much as poflible, the permanence of the fyftem about to be established.

The honourable gentleman had triumphantly foretold the overthrow of this project, by the reftlefs ambition of France. How foon fuch an event might take place, he could not poflibly foresee; but if war was the greatest of evils, and commerce the greateft blefling that a country

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