1 Chap seem to have had an enmity to the House of Austria. IV. Our guaranty of the pragmatic sanction was an effect of -v-^ that enmity, because we entered into it, when, as has 1742- since appeared, we had no mind to perform our engagement; and by that salse guaranty induced the Emperor to admit the introduction of the Spanish troops into Italy, which he would not otherwise have done. The preparations we made in that year, the armies we raised, and the sleet we fitted out, were not to guard against the event of the war abroad, but against the event of the ensuing election at home. The new commissions, the promotions, and the money laid out in these preparations, were of excellent use at the time of a general election, and in some measure attone for the loss of the excise scheme but France and her allies were well convinced, that we would in no event declare against them, otherwise they would not have dared to attack the Emperor at that time ; for Muscovy, Poland, Germany, and Britain would have been by much an over-match for them. It was not our preparations that set bounds to the ambition of France, but her getting all she wanted, at that time for herself, and all she defired for her allies. Her own prudence directed her, that it was not then a proper time to push her views surther i because she did not know, but that the spirit of this nation might get the better, as it has since done with regard to Spain, of the spirit of our administration; and if this should have happened, the House of Austria was then in such a condition, that our assistance, even though late, would have been of effectual service. "I am surprized, Sir, to hear the Hon. Gentleman now say, that we gave up nothing, or got any thing by an insamous convention with Spain. Did we not give up the freedom of our trade and navigation, by submiting it to be regulated by plenipotentiaries? Can free- , dom be regulated, without being confined, and consequently in some part destroyed? Did not we give up Georgia, or some part of it, by submitting to have new limits settled by plenipotentiaries? Did we not give up all the reparation of honour we had so just a t itle to insist on? Did we not give up all reparation of the damage we had suffered, amounting to five or six hundred thousand pounds, for the paltry sum of twenty-seven thousand pounds. For this was all that Spain promised to pay, after after deducting the sixty-eight thousand pounds, which Chap. we, by the declaration annexed to that treaty, allo /red IV. her to insist on having from our South Sea Company, Y"^* under the penalty of stripping them of the Assiento Con- 1742» tract, and all the privileges they, were thereby entitled to. Even this sum of twenty-seven thousand pounds, or more, they had before acknowledged to be due, on account df (hips they allowed to have been unjustly taken, and had actually sent orders for their restitution: so that by this insamous treaty we got nothing, and gave up every thing; and therefore, in my opinion, the honour of this nation can never be retrieved, unless the advisers and authors of it be censured and punished, which cannot regularly be done without a parliamentary enquiry. "By these and the like wicked, or weak and pusillanimous measures, we are become the ridicule of every court in Europe, and have lost the considence of all our antient allies. By these we have encouraged France to extend her ambitious views, and now at last to attempt carrying them into execution. By bad ceconomy and extravagance in our domestic measures, we have brought ourselves into such distress at home, that we are almost utterly incapable of entering into a war. By weakness or wickedness in our foreign measures, we have brought the affairs of Europe into such distress, that it is almost impossible for us to avoid entering into a war. By these' means we have been brought upon a dangerous precipice, on which we now find ourselves; and shall we trust our being led sasely oft" to the same guide who has led us on? Sir, it is impossible for . him to lead us off; it is impossible for us to get off, without first recovering that considence among our antient allies, which this nation formerly used to have. This we cannot do, as long as they suppose that our councils are influenced by our late minister; and this they will suppose as long as he has access to the king's closet, and his conduct remains unenquired into, and uncensured. It is not, therefore, a revenge for past sufferings, but a defire to prevent suture, that makes me so sanguine for this enquiry. His punishment, let it be ever so severe, will be but a small attonementto his country for what is past. But his impunity will be the source of many suture miseries-to Europe, as well as to his native country. Let us be as mercisul as we wilJ, as any man* can reasonably desire, when we E 2 come Chap, come to pronounce sentence; but sentence we must proIV. nounce; and for this purpose we-must enquire, unless we are resolved to sacrisice our own liberties, and the 1742. liberties of Europe, to the preservation of one guilty man." The House divided. For the motion, 242—against it, 244. The fate of this motion was called a confirmation of the veracity of the charge brought against the new ministry, that they had compounded for the sasety of the late minister Mr. Pulteney was extremely mortisied at this miscarriage. And as soon as Mr. Sandys. and some others, were returned from their re-elections, the motion was made again, on the 23d of March, by Lord Limerick; but it was confined to only the last ten years of the late administration. Mr. Pitt spoke in support of this motion, although altered to half the period. His speech on this occasion was in reply to Mr. George Cooke of Harefield, who was just come into parliament. He began with saying, "As the Hon. Gentleman who spoke last against the motion, has not been long in the house, one ought in charity to believe there is some sincerity in the prosessions he makes, of his being ready to agree to a parliamentary enquiry, when he sees cause, and a convenient time for it; but if he knew how often those prosessions have been made by those, who, on all occasions, have opposed every kind of enquiry, he would save himself the trouble of making any such, because they are believed to be sincere by very sew, within doors or without. He may, it is true, have no occasion upon his own account, to be afraid of an enquiry of any sort; but when a gentleman has contracted a friendship, or any of his near relations have contracted a friendship for one, who may be brought into danger by an enquiry, it is very natural to suppose, suppose, that such a gentleman's opposition to an enquiry does not proceed entirely from motives of a public nature; and if that gentleman follows the advice of some of his' friends, I very much question if he will ever see cause, ,742, or a convenient time, for an enquiry into the late conduct of our public affairs. As a parliamentary enquiry must always be founded upon suspicions, as well as sacts, or manisest crimes, it will always be easiy to sind reasons or pretences for averring those suspicions to be groundless; and upon the principle that a parliamentary enquiry must necessarily lay open the secrets of our government, no time can ever be proper or convenient for such an enquiry, because it is impossible to suppose a time when our government can have no secrets of importance to the nation. "This, Sir, would be a most convenient doctrine for ministers, because it would put an end to all parliamentary enquiries into the conduct of our public affairs; and therefore when I hear it urged, and so much insisted upon, by a certain set of gentlemen in this house, I must suppose their hopes to be very extensive. I must suppose them to expect that they and their posterity will for ever continue to be ministers, which, if possible, would be more satal to it, than their having so long continued to be so. But this doctrine has been so often contradicted by experience, that I am surprized to hear gentlemen insist upon it. Even this very session has afforded us a convincing proof how little foundation there is for saying that a parliamentary enquiry must necessarily discover the secrets of our government. Surely, in a war with Spainj which must be carried on chiefly by sea, if our government have any secrets, the lords of the admiralty must be intrusted with the most important of them; yet we have in this very session, and without any secret committees, made an enquiry into the conduct of the lords commissioners of our admiralty. We have not only enquired into their conduct, but we have censured it in such a manner as hath put an end to the same commissioners being any longer entrusted with that branch of the public business. Has that enquiry discovered any of the secrets of our government? On the contrary, the committee found they had no occasion to dive into any of the secrets of government. They found cause enough for censure without it; and none of the commissioners pretended pretended to justisy their conduct by pipers, containing secrets which ought not to be discovered. f* This, Sir, is so late, and so strong a proof of there being no necessary connection between a parliamentary enquiry and a discovery of secrets which it behoves the nation to conceal, that I hope gentlemen will no longer insist upon this danger, as an argument against the enquiry now proposed, which of all others is the least liable to objection. The first commissioner of the treasury has nothing to do with the application of secret service money: He is only to take care, that it be regularly issued from his ossice, and that n° more (hall be issued upon that head, than according to the then conjuncture of affairs, may seem to be necessary. As to the particular application, it properly belongs to the secretaries of state, or such other persons r.s his Majesty shall employ; so that we cannot suppose the enquiry proposed will discover any secrets relating to the application of that money, unless the noble lord has acted as secretary of state as well as first commissioner of the treasury: or unless a great part of the money, drawn out for secret services, has been delivered to himself, or to persons employed by him, and applied by him or them towards Saining a corrupt influence in parliament, or at elections, oth these, indeed, he is most grievously suspected of, and both are secrets which it behoves him very much to have concealed; but it equally behoves the nation to have them both revealed. His country and he are, I grant, in this cause, equally, though oppositely, concerned; for the sasety or ruin of one or the other depends upon the sate of the question; and, in my opinion, the violent opposition made to this motion adds great strength to the suspicion. "I shall admit, Sir, that the noble Lord, whose conduct is now proposed to be enquired into, was one of his Majesty's most hon. privy council, and that consequently he must have hada share at least in advising all the measures we have pursued, both abroad and at home; but I cannot admit, that therefore an enquiry into his conduct must necessarily occasion a discovery of any secrets that may be of dangerous consequence to the nation; because we are not to enquire into the measures themselves, or into the wisdom and uprightness of them, and consemiently can have no call to look into any of the govern 'ment's |