Governor Mr. Burke. Gov. John- Mr. Fox. that paffed between the Secretary of State, and the Directors of the Company, was already before the Houfe; he wished that a proceeding fhould be had upon the fubject; but he was defirous that the Houfe fhould have the moft ample information, before they should be called upon to give any decifion on the bufinefs, and therefore would move, that the Directors of the Eaft India Company do lay before this Houfe, copies of all proceedings that have been had by the faid Directors, or by any Court of Proprietors of the faid Company, relating to the recall of Warren Haftings, Efquire, Governor General of Bengal. Mr. Secretary Townshend feconded the motion. Governor Johnstone very warmly defended the conduct of the Court of Proprietors, and faid, that there was nothing illegal in their refifting a refolution of that House, for a refolution of that Houfe was not law. Mr. T. Pitt agreed to this propofition. Mr. Burke pointed out, with great energy, the confe quences to be apprehended from the Court of Proprietors defending a man, whom that Houfe had confidered as unfit for his high truft. Governor Jobuftane blamed Government for having inter fered in the bufinefs, by writing a letter to the Court, praying them to fufpend their meafure. Mr. Secretary Townshend, General Smith, Mr. Fox, the Lord Advocate and others, defended government against the charge, and after fome farther convertation, it was declared that the matter would be thoroughly enquired into after the recefs. Mr. Fox faid, he wished to make a motion on Wednesday, for the production of the provifional articles, but he would not do it, if any of his Majefty's Minifters would fay there was danger in in their exhibition. The Houfe went into a Committee, to confider of the importation of corn; when on the motion of the Lord Mayor, Mr. Newaham, it was refolved: "That wheat, wheat flour, rye, rye flour, barley, and all forts of corn, grain, and meal, be permitted to be imported on the low duties, for a time to be limited." Various fuggeftions were made for the relief of the people in the prefent fcarcity and high price of provifions; the Lord Advocate, Sir Herbert Mackworth, Mr. Sibthorpe, Sir Edward Aftley, Mr. Rosewarne, Sir John Wrottefly, Mr. Dempfter, and Mr. Whitbread spoke on the occafion. December December 17. grave. Lord Mulgrave rofe to move for the thanks of the Houfe Lord Mul to Sir Edward Hughes; in doing this, he faid, it would not be neceffary to go into the particulars of the two actions, which had been at once fo brilliant to our flag, and fo advantageous to the country. He would content himself, therefore, with reading two paffages from the letters of the Council of Bengal and Council of Madras, which in a very particular manner pointed out the advantages of our fuccefs. Having done this, he faid, that he wifhed juft to ftate his opinion in a few words on the conduct of the Houfe with respect to their thanks. He thought that their thanks fhould only be given on great and fignal occafions, and that they fhould be given to the aufpices only; for it fhould be remembered, that the Commander in Chief ftood as the reprefentative of the force; and it ought to be the bufinefs of that House to infpire the idea, that fleets and armies should always confider the fame of their Commander as their own fame; and that whatever approbation they should receive for their gallantry and fervices, fhould come through him. In wording his motion, therefore, the Houfe would fee he had ufed the words "for fervices performed by the fquadron." This contained an approbation of the fleet in general. At the fame time he begged leave to fay, that no man deserved more truly the thanks of his country than Commodore King, for the diftinguished fhare he had had in thefe engagements. As he had thrown out his opinion, he would not himfelf move for thanks to that gallant officer; but, if any fuch motion was made, it fhould have his warm fupport. The noble Lord concluded with moving, That the thanks of this House be given to Vice Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, Knight of the moft Honourable Order of the Bath, for the important fervices performed by the fquadron under his command in the Eaft Indies, on the 17th of February, and the 12th of April, 1782. The Marquis of Graham feconded the motion, and it was highly commended by Governor Johnstone, Mr. Wraxall, and General Smith, It was agreed to, nemine contradicente. Lord Newhaven inoved, that the thanks of this House be Lord New given to Commodore Richard King, the captains, officers, haven. and feamen, for the important fovices performed by the fqua dron Mr. PenRington, Mr. Fox. dron under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, in the Eaft Indies, on the 17th of February, and the 12th of April, 1782. It paffed nem. con. Mr. Pennington then moved, that the thanks of this Houfe be given to Sir Eyre Coote, Knight of the moft Honourable Order of the Bath, for the great perfeverance he has fhewn, and the indefatigable pains he has taken, to furmount the difficulties in which the affairs of the Carnatic were involved, and for the gallant and fpirited exertions he has made fince he placed himfelf at the head of the army in that quarter of India. Mr. Secretary Townfhend, Governor Johnftone, General Conway and others very much approved of what Lord Mulgrave had thrown out, and it was the general fenfe of the Houfe that in future their thanks fhould be given only to the Commander in Chief. December 18. The Houfe went into a Committee on the Corn Bill, and filled up the blank of the time allowed for the importation to the 25th of Auguft for England, and to the 25th of September for Scotland. In a Committee of Supply, Sir George Yonge, as Secretary at War, moved, that a fum, not exceeding 6230211. 135. 6d. be granted to his Majefty, upon account, towards defraying the extraordinary expences of his Majefty's land forces and other fervices incurred, fince the 31st of January, 1782, and not provided for by Parliament. The refolution paffed without debate. After fome converfation on the cafe of Sir Thomas Rumbold, the attention of the Houfe was called to the motion intimated by Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox faid, that no two things upon earth could be more oppofite to each other, or differ more, than the explanation given to the fame treaty by his Majefty's minifters in one place; and a Minifter of his Majefty in another; for while the former had fairly and roundly declared the treaty with America to be final, conclufive, and irrevocable; the latter as roundly afferted the very contrary. He adverted particularly to what the Earl of Shelburne had faid on the facredness of fecrefy in this cafe. With what little deference, did that noble perfon treat his colleagues! They had fairly anfwered anfwered all thefe queftions; and if to anfwer them fairly was to betray his Majefty's fecrets, and to violate the Privy Counsellor's oath, the noble Lord muft of course look upon. his colleagues as perjured men, and betrayers of their truft? It was a moft convenient thing indeed for a man to have a confcience, behind which he could shelter himself from whatever he did not like to face: the noble Lord could not have acted more wifely than when he had recourfe to his oath; and a confeffor could not have given a better advice: one might have imagined indeed that the noble Lord had drawn up a cafe of confcience, and fubmitted it to a cafuift; there was an affectation indeed in Minifters, notwithftanding the diverfity of opinion that vifibly prevailed among them, to have it thought that they were all perfectly unanimous : but how stood that unanimity? They might indeed have all concurred in making a particular treaty; but did they all agree in the interpretation of it? Not at all: the noble Lord who was fuppofed to have the greateft influence in his Majefty's councils fuffered his colleagues to explain as they underftood; but he thought it proper to affume to himself the fame liberty; as he understood it differently, fo he explained it differently all reafoning men muft allow, that unanimity in agreeing to a treaty was of little confequence, when compared to unanimity on the interpretation of it: the words of the treaty were of themselves of little confequence; that which was truly confequential, was the interpretation or conftruction put upon those words by those who were to execute the treaty, and act upon them: a man might differ in opinion. from another, and yet might facrifice his opinion for the fake of unanimity, when there was a queftion of adopting fome particular measure; but when a measure was adopted, to differ about the meaning of that measure, this was the divifion, this was the difference that he thought of the most dangerous nature to the public. To exemplify this, in a cafe in which he was concerned; he ftated the Earl of Shelburne's letter to Sir Guy Carleton, in which the independence of America was declared to be a measure, to which his Majesty's Commiffioners were inftructed to fubfcribe unconditionally;from that moment he rejoiced beyond expreffion, and would have been happy, if he had been at liberty to fhew this letter to those who ufed frequently to intimate their fufpicions to him, that the noble Lord would never confent to recognize the independence of America; how could he, if he had been at liberty, have filenced their complaints, and difpelled VOL. IX. all all their doubts?-But what mufthave been his furprife, if after fo full and ample a declaration made by the noble Lord in his letter, he should afterwards find him endeavouring to explain it away? What confidence could the other powers of Europe place in the Minifters of this country, when they found that how unanimous foever they might be in agreeing to a meafure, they never could be brought to hold the fame opinion when the purport of that measure was to be explained? What muft Europe think of us, if after he had informed all the foreign courts, that we were about to recognize unconditionally the independence of America, they fhould find that his colleague in office, who had concurred in the measure, explained it in the moft different manner? In Mr. Secretary Hamilton's letter, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and through him the people of Ireland, were informed that the independence of America was finally recognized by England, in a treaty which was to take effect between the two powers, whenever we should make peace with France. Could any terms be more ftrong? The independence being finally recognifed, it was with propriety that the Lord Lieutenant, fpeaking of England and America, fhould call them thefe two powers; but how muft his Excellency feel, how muft the people of Ireland feel, when they hear, in contradiction to his Excellency's letter, that the firft Minifter of this country has declared, that the independence is not finally recognifed; for that as the treaty in which it is recognised is revocable, the independence is only conditional, and of courfe not finally recognised? To come to a full eclairciffement on this fubject, it was his wifh to fee the treaty itself; and as the House would barely defire to have the treaty, the noble Lord need not be alarmed for his confcience; he might pro-duce the articles, and keep his meaning to himself; the Houfe of Commons would put a conftruction upon them themselves, which could not in future be explained away by any Minifter. If there were any part of the treaty which Minifters would undertake to fay, could not, in their opinion, be disclosed without danger in the prefent ftate of the negociation, he would not prefs the motion he intended to make: there always was a willingness or bias in the House to support Government, and he would call this bias laudable; and fhew he felt it in himself, by withdrawing his motion, if minifters would affure him that there were parts of the treaty that were not yet ripe for difclofure: he had heard it reported, that there were in the treaty with America, fecret articles unknown |