of this country, that he should not be afraid of faying to a French minifter, "If you want to make war with this country, begin when you pleafe, and where you pleafe; "if in the east, you will find an army ready, and a full treafury; "the fame in the weft, and the "fame in Europe."

Before the queftion was put, Mr. Fox moved, by way of amendment, that the following words be added to it: "That the duties on the importation of Portugal wines fhould at the fame time be low"ered one-third." This, Mr. Fox obferved, would be an effectual means of preferving the Methuen treaty in full force, fo far as related to our part of the obligation, and would enable government more advantageoufly to negociate the pending treaty with Portugal.

This motion was negatived without farther difcuffion, by 91 to 76, and the original refolution put and carried. Feb. 16th.

The day following Mr. Fox made his lait effort to induce the houfe to take fome ftep for fecuring the continuance of the Methuen treaty and averting the danger, to which he contended it was expofed by the refolution they had come to the preceding night-a refolution, which, if not followed by fome correfpondent propofition refpecting Portu gal, would manifeft a difregard to that nation little fhort of a direct

affront.

He had been defcribed, he faid, on the former day, as a perfon fond of talking of alliances with foreign courts, of treaties, and of negociations. He did not conceive how he could avoid in that houfe frequently difcuffing topics of that nature, un

lefs they were to take the advice that one member had given, and no longer to confider themfelves as politicians. Till then he must be excufed if he continued to think that it became him and every gentleman, who fate within those walls, to confider himfelf as a politician, and to direct his opinions and condu&t accordingly.

Mr. Fox then proceeded to fiate the immenfe importance of the objet he brought before them; a fure market for our manufactures to the amount of near a million annually, and principally for a fpecies of manufacture falcable in no other. He next adverted to her importance to us as an ally; and remarked, that but for her we should not have had in the laft war a friendly port from Gottenburgh to Gibraltar.

Having irongly ftated thefe facts, he contended, that if the house did not come to an immediate refolution "That the duties, on the wines of "Portugal fhould be lowered one "third," they not only virtually broke the Methuen treaty, but paid France a compliment at the expence of Portugal, by holding it out to all the world, that during the courfe of their proceedings France was preferred, and her interefts firstattended to.

Nor was there, in due parliamen tary form, any grounds. whatever, upon which they could decently fufpend an act expreffive of their rea dinefs to comply with the Methuen treaty. They had indeed heard of: negotiations pending with Portugal, and they had heard of grievances complained of; but they neither. knew the grievances nor the state of the negotiations, and therefore, as a houfe of parliament, they had. no grounds whatever to induce them

to

to act otherwise than as if no negotiation was pending, nor any complaints or grievances exifting. He concluded with moving an inftruction to the committee on the commercial treaty to the purport he had before mentioned.

The motion was fupported with great ability by fir Grey Cooper, and oppofed by Mr. Pitt, as interfering by a premature refolution in a matter delegated by the conftitution to the executive government. With respect to what had been faid of the house having no parliamentary knowledge of a pending negotiation, he afferted that a declaration delivered by him in his place, and as a minifter, that fuch a negotiation was pending, was entitled to be confidered as formal parliamentary information. Heconcluded with repeating his declaration, that he had every reafon to expect the negotiation would prove fuccefsful; if, however, it fhould not fucceed, he would lay before the houfe, for their judgments, the grounds upon which it had failed.

relation to each other in which they ftood in the year 1778.

The refolution reípecting a reci procal duty of 30 per cent. upon beer occafioned fome conversation,. in which Mr. Whitbread, the most eminent brewer of this country, gave it as his opinion, that when it was confidered that to this import duty were to be added the exifting internal duties in each country, which in England were very high and in France very low, the terms upon the whole were in our favour.

Upon this iffue, and the refponfibility which the minifter agreed to take upon himself, Mr. Fox confented to withdraw his motion; and the house being refolved into a committee, Mr. Pitt proceeded to move the feveral refolutions for impofing certain duties upon the various articles of merchandize fpecified in the tariff, as contained in the fixth article of the treaty.

The duty of 12 per cent. upon cottons was objected to, as not fufficient to protect the home manufacture, and more especially as fo much of the raw material was purchafed from foreigners, who might charge it with what duty they pleafed. The French, it was faid, had" already fhewn a difpofition to throw this obftacle in our way, by a treaty they were endeavouring to nego tiate with Portugal, to purchase all the Brazil cotton wool, and by laying an additional duty of five-pence per pound on that of her own colonies. În anfwer to these objections it was afferted, that the fuperiority of our manufacturers, both in industry and ingenuity, was fo manifeft, as to leave no room for any apprehen, fions of their fuffering by any com petition; and that the thort duration of the treaty, which was only for twelve years, was a fufficient. fecurity against the dreaded emigration of our manufacturers. With refpect to the raw material, our purte would always command it; and fome gentlemen conceived we might foon be able to fupply ourfelves from our own iflands.

When the reduced duty upon brandy was moved, Mr. Pitt was afked, whether he meant to accompany that alteration with a reduction of the duties on rum? He anfwered, that he did; and that it was intended to place them exactly in the fame

With refpect to the article of glafs, it was objected by fir M. W. [+] 4 Ridley,

Ridley, that it would entirely ruin the British plate-glafs manufactory in England. For, he said, a glafs of ninety inches would coft one hundred guineas, whereas in France a glafs of the fame dimenfions might be purchased for forty; to this if twelve and a half per cent. were added, it would ftill leave the French almoft one half cheaper than the English. Our home duties on glafs were fo high, that twelve and a half per cent. fcarcely amounted to one fourth of the duty that would be fufficient to protect that article.

Mr. Pitt obferved in reply, that the twelve and a half per cent. were not the only duties that would be payable in future on French plate glafs imported, a right being referved by the treaty to lay on duties to countervail the internal duties of excife paid on the glais manufactured in the country into which the importation fhould be made.

Mr. Fox allowed, that if France would confent to underftand the treaty in this light, and admit the diftinction between the nominal and internal duties, it would do very well; but the treaty would not bear that conftruction.

Mr. Grenville faid, that the two countries, intending to act with good faith and plain dealings towards each other, would take fuch meafures as fhould remove all doubts on the fubject.

Refolutions upon the feveral articles of the tariff were then moved and agreed to. Feb. 19th. On the Monday following the report of the committee upon the commercial treaty was brought up, and on the ufual motion being made, that the houfe do agree to the fame, notice

was taken of the omiffion. of the mention of Ireland both in the treaty and the tariff; and it was afked, whether or no fhe was understood to be included in it? To this question Mr. Pitt replied, that Ireland was undoubtedly entitled to all the benefits of the French treaty; but it was entirely at her own option, whether the fhould choofe to avail herself of thofe advantages; for it was only to be done by her paffing fuch laws as fhould put the tariff on the fame footing in that country as it was ftipulated thould be done in this. Had the adoption of the treaty by Ireland been a ftipulation neceffary to be performed before it could be finally concluded on by this country, then this country would have been deprived of all the benefits refulting from it in the event of Ireland's refukil.

This explanation did not fatisfy Mr. Flood, who again asked, what fecurity Ireland had for her fhare of the advantages which the treaty held out to Great Britain, if any advantages were likely to arife from it, any more than the had that the court of Lisbon would extend to. her the advantages of the Methuen treaty, of which it was well known fhe had refused to fuffer Ireland to participate, in violation of the fpirit and meaning of that treaty; of which breach of treaty on the part of Portugal,although it had beenfive years in negotiation, no redrefs had yet been obtained for Ireland? Mir. Flood stated his conviction, that the commercial treaty was neither likely to be a benefit to Great Britain nor Ireland; and he thought a stronger proof of its defects could not be itated to the friends of Ireland (and every honeft Briton must be the friend of Ireland, because her in

terefts

terefts were fo deeply involved and interwoven with the interefts of Great Britain, that they were infeparable confiderations) than the extraordinary pofition in which it would place the two countries of France and Ireland, with refpect to England and to each other; by entitling France to commercial privileges and advantages in Great Britain to which Ireland was not entitled, and by entitling Ireland to greater privileges and advantages in France than the could obtain in Great Britain.

This fpeech produced a warm reply from Mr. Grenville, who faid, that Great Britain had two years ago made a liberal offer to Ireland, which the parliament of that mifled and infatuated people had been perfuaded to refufe; and that it ill becamethofe who had principally flood forward to perfuade that affembly to reject the offer, to be afterwards among the foremost to endeavour to prevent this country from carrying into execution a treaty with France, which was concluded with a view to the benefit of Great Britain, and in which Ireland was alfo included, if fhe chofe to avail herself of the benefit.

The report was finally agreed to, upon a divifion, by a great majority.

We are now arrived Feb. 21ft. at the laft debate which this important measure gave rife to in the house of commons. It was upon an address moved by Mr. Blackburne,member for Lancashire, "to thank his majesty for the foli"citude he had been graciously

"ceived that the moft happy effects "would refult from it to his faith"ful fubjects, and that they would "take every neceffary ftep to render "the negociation effectual."

In fupport of the addrefs, he faid, that he had received letters from feveral of his conftituents, informing him, that a numerous meeting of the cotton manufacturers had been held at Manchefter, in confequence of a kind of remonftrance which they had feen in the public prints again the commercial treaty, from the chamber of manufacturers; and that, after a ferious deliberation, and a full difcuffion of the fubje&t, they confidered the treaty as highly beneficial to this country in general, and to the cotton manufacture in particular. They desired him alfo to inform the houfe, that they neither approved of the conduct of the chamber of commerce, nor had delegated any perfon to reprefent. them in that body, when the petition, praying for time to confider the fubject, was carried.

The hon. captain Berkeley, (member for Gloucestershire) feconded the motion; and faid, that the treaty had met the approbation of many bodies of woollen manufacturers amongst his conftituents. It was in France only that it was condemned, as being too advantageous to England, and likely to ruin the French manufactures. The people of Abbeville in particular had already declared, that, if the treaty fhould be carried into effect, they must be inevitably undone.

In oppofition to the addrets, Mr. Grey, the reprefentative for Northumberland,made his maiden fpcech, and aftouifhed the house by another of thofe wonderful difplays of orato- rical abilities, which in the courfe of

a few

a few years had burft forth in fuch torrents, on every fide, amongst its younger members. Mr. Grey was not inferior to any of thofe who preceded him, in copioufnefs and elegance of diction, in ftrength of argument, or in perfpicuity of arrangement, and fuperior to them all in the graces of elocution. It is to be lamented that we are not able to give our readers a fpecimen of his extraordinary talents; and muft content ourselves with a bare enumeration of the arguments he principally refied upon.

He agreed with Mr. Fox in confidering the general policy of the measure as by far the moft important object it involved; he stated at large the relative fituation and political interefts of the two nations, and from thence inferred the wifdom of that established fyftem of our policy, in which France had always been regarded with the moft fufpicious jealoufy at least, if not as our natural foe. He confirmed thefe opinions by a reference to our unvaried experience; and afked upon what grounds it was prefumed that fhe had at once totally abandoned all her ancient political principles, and had no longer any object in view inimical to our interefts?

He endeavoured to prove, that the prefent moment was perhaps that, of all others, in which our jealoufy ought to be themoft awake, and in which we had the leaft reafon for repoting any confidence in her. With this view he read a fiate paper, which had paffed between the French minifter and the plenipotentiary of the United States of America in Paris. It contained a proposition on the part of France to concede to that country, without tipulation, a great variety of com

mercial advantages detrimental to her own revenues, in which no other European nation, not even the Spaniards, were indulged. And was it to be fuppofed that France really expected no equivalent? She doubtless expected it in a monopoly of that trade which we once enjoyed, and which conftituted two-thirds of our commercial marine :-fhe expected it in the augmentation of her own navy, and in the ruin of ours. Whilft he was enticing us by what had been juftly called a tempting bait, to conclude a treaty of commerce with her for the fupply of her own market, fhe had been fecuring cuftomers to take the commodities off her hands; and thus not only to become the carrier, but to trade to an extent she had hitherto been unable to afpire at, upon the capital of this country.

Another object which he believed France had in view, was to render us as much politically infulated, ast we were infulated in our local fituation.-One effect which he would' look for in this tempting treaty was, to draw us off from feeking alliances with the rest of Europe; it had already, in fome degree, pro-, duced this effect, as was manifeft from the coldnefs which minifters difcovered with respect to the Methuen treaty.

He earneftly recommended, inftead of the prefent treaty, a more intimate connection with America; fuch an intercourfe would be the moft eligible for Great Britain that could be devited, and entirely confiftent with her true political interefis; and fuch an intercourfe he had the best reafous for believing America was both willing and eager to enter into upon fair and equitable terins.

He