force and uphold the doctrine, that the was not fo included. It was difficult to reconcile the caution of the Right Hon. Gentleman to prevent this country being on any occafion einbroiled for Hanover, with his attempt to make the minifters of Great Britain refponfible for the government and politicks of that country. If there was any method of infuring to their country a participation of fuch troubles as might affect the Flectorate, it must be by making its political arrangements fubject to the British adminiftration. If that were done, it would become a limb and member of the British empire, and as fuch would be entitled to demand protection. Should the minifters of England interfere to prevent those of Hanover from forming fuch alliances and confederacies as they faw neceflary for her fafety, would they not have every right to demand, in cafe of future wars or danger, the affiftance of that country who had prevented them from ftrengthening themfelves with allies and with friends? and would not this country be bound to affift them to the laft drop of its blood?—He laughed at the idea of the Right Hon. Gentleman, that the method of fecuring the friendship of the Imperial Court, was by putting ourselves into the neceffity of interfering in German politicks, and abandoning that option of neutrality, which, ftanding as we do now detached from the government of Hanover, it was in our power to make.-He had already faid all that he thought himfelf justified in saying on the fubject, and there had been faid more upon it than he thought there ought; but, for his part, having difclaimed all refponfibility as to the German league, he fhould determine never to be tempted, or provoked by the Right Hon. Gentleman, to enter again upon the difcuffion of a fubject of fo fine and delicate a nature. Mr. Fox rofe fhortly to explain. He declared an unfair conftruction had been put upon his argument by the Right Hon. Gentleman, and faid, however much the Right Hon. Gentleman might think himfell a good citizen, he was fatisfied he had done nothing incompatible with that character. Did the Right Hon. Gentleman imagine, that the facts upon which he had argued were any fecret, or that any of the European powers need to fend there for information refpecting them? The contrary was notoriously true; the circumftances that he had alluded to in argument were well known. Having faid this, Mr. Fox enforced his former obfervations, and mentioned the ftyle of the different letters that had been fent from the Courts of London, Verfailles and Petersburgh to the King of Pruffia on the fubject of the league, ftating that the Court of Versailles had fent a letter couched in terms of civility, and implying fomething like an approbation of the league, and that the Court of Petersburgh, had fent one full of civility, but expreffing extreme regret that any fuch league had been entered into in confequence of groundiefs doubts and illfounded jealoufies. He built a good deal of argument on this, and stated the odd fituation Great Britain would be in, should a war in Germany be the consequence, and fhould the find it her intereft to connect herself with the two imperial Courts ; could the, with any decency charge the Elector of Hanover with having joined in a league formed on groundless doubts and ill-founded jealoufies? After putting this ftrongly, he took notice of the ridicule aimed at him by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the fuppofition, that he had fince the preceding day had the advantage of diplomatic information. He said he knew the refpectable character to whom the expreffion alluded; that although he was not so young as the Right Hon. Gentleman, he was not afhamed of being inftructed, and that it was no part of his character to hold himself up as a man fuperior to thofe with whom he acted, however, it might be that of certain persons. He advised thofe perfons, however, not to perfuade themselves that all men were to be deceived by what they said, and because they had confidently prefumed to perfuade the manufacturers of this country that the Irish propofitions contained nothing detrimental to their interefts, and to tell the people of Ireland that they did to. Mr. Fox was called to order by the chair, the Irish propofitions not being under confideration. Mr. Pitt faid across the House, go on! Mr. Fox anfwered, no; we fhall both have opportunities enough to difcufs the fubject in the course of the feffion; he then bowed to the chair, and clofed his fpeech. When the part of the addrefs was read, that related to the refolutions to be made the basis of an adjustment of the commercial intercourfe between Great Britain and Ireland, Mr. Sheridan rofe, and faid, he had been extremely curious to hear the preceding day what answer the Right Hon. Gentleman would give to the questions of his Right Hon. Friend refpecting the Irish propofitions, and whether it was his inten02 tion tion to revive them or not. Mr. Sheridan charged Mr. Pitt, who had been entrusted to prepare the bill brought in upon the twenty refolutions, with having in that bill totally departed from the refolutions as they had been voted. This he called a grofs infuit on the Houfe, and as strong a breach of faith with parliament as an individual could be well faid to be guilty of. Mr. Sheridan faid, he was aware the Right Hon. Gentleman had moved merely "that Jeave be given to bring in a bill upon the fubject of the refolutions," and not that "the refolutions be put into the fhape and form of a bill;" but still the meaning of that Houfe clearly was, that the whole of the Refolutions fhould be ftrictly adhered to in the bill. He faid, he would not take up the time of the Houfe, by going at large into proofs of his accufation; but he would remind them of one ftriking circumftance, and that would fufficiently fhew that he was founded in his charge. The Right Hon. Gentleman they would all recollect, had repeatedly blamed his Right Hon. Friend for making his grants in favour of Ireland matters of perpetual option, and had contended that it was neceffary to make a treaty with Ireland, that hould be final and conclufive; hence his conftant argument in defence of the propofitions had been, that they were to be final and conclufive. Under that idea he believed it would be generally agreed, the majority of that Houfe had voted for the propofitions. What then were they to think of the conduct of the Right Hon. Gentleman, when upon examining his bill they fhould find, that fo materially had he departed from the fpirit of the propofitions, that inftead of the condition of the bill being final and conclufive, it left the matter open, and a matter of perpetual option? Mr. Sheridan directed fome ridicule, as well as fome feverity, at this fort of conduct, and talked of the perpetual changes the business had undergone. Thus Mr. Pitt's bill was different from the twenty refolutions, and Mr. Orde's bill again had been different from Mr. Pitt's. In corroboration of the affertion, that the bill of Mr. Orde differed materially from Mr. Pitt's bill, Mr. Sheridan faid, he might quote the Irish debates which had been reported with fingular acccuracy, but he would cite an authority not to be queftioned the printed letter of the Secretary of State for Ireland to his conftituents. He then read a paffage to the Houfe from page 42 of the Secretary of State's letter, and argued upon it fome time. He at length concluded, with ridiculing the entire plan, and comparing it to an unfinithed thell, of one of those fantastical buildings to be feen at the end of almoft every parifh, generally deemed Mr. Sucha-one's folly. The Attorney General replied to Mr. Sheridan, and read the following paragraph from the addrefs of both Houtes of parlia ment laft feffions, to prove that the Hon. Gentleman was mistaken : "We therefore deem it indifpenfable that these points fhould be fecured as conditions neceffary to the existence and duration of the agreement between the two countries. They can only be carried into effect by laws to be paffed in the parliament of Ireland, which is alone competent to bind your Majefty's fubjects in that king. dom, and whofe legislative rights we fhall ever hold as facred as our own." Mr. Sheridan replied, and perfifted in making a positive and peremptory charge againft the Chancellor of the Exchequer of having brought in a bill materially different from the refolution on which the Houfes had expected it to be founded. At length the address was read a second time, and agreed to; the House then adjourned. The Humble addrefs of the Right Honourable the LORDS Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament affembled. Die Martis, 24 Januarii, 1786. "Moft Gracious Sovereign, "WE, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal fubjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament affembled, beg leave to return your Majefty our humble thanks for your moft gracious fpeech from the throne. "Impreffed with the fulleft conviction of the bleffings which refult from a ftate of general peace, it affords us great fatisfaction to be informed that the difputes which appeared to threaten an interruption to the tranquillity of Europe, have been brought to an amicable conclufion; and that your Majelty continues to receive from foreign powers the strongest afsurances of their friendly difpofition towards this country. "Earneftly interefled in whatever may contribute to the ftrength and fplendour of the nation, and the wealth of your Majefty's fubje&s, we cannot but be deeply fenfible of the advantages which muft be derived from the extention of trade, the improvement of the revenue, and the increafe of the public credit. "The "The promotion of the common intereft and profperity of all vour Majefty's fubjects, was the object of thofe refolutions, which we humbly laid before your Majefty in the last feffion of parliament, as the foundation of a permanent and equitable adjustment of the commercial intercourfe between Great Britain and Ireland; but no effectual ftep having been taken in confequence of them by the parliament of Ireland, the progrefs of that measure, however falutary, cannot properly become the fubject of our prefent confideration. "We humbly intreat your Majefty to be perfuaded, that the vigour and refources of the country, which, with heartfelt fatisfaction, we obferve are fo fully manifefted in its present fituation, cannot fail to excite a ftill more active attention to the important objects of national concern which your Majefty is pleafed to recommend to our confideration; and particularly to fuch measures as may be neceffary to give farther fecurity to the revenue, and to promote and extend, as far as poffible, the general industry of our country." His MAJESTY'S MOST GRACIOUS ANSWER. "My Lords. "I thank you for this very dutiful and loyal addrefs. I receive with great fatisfaction your affurances, that you will give the ftricteft artention to the important objects of national concern which I have recommended to your confideration." joyment of peace, in the extenfion of trade, the improvement of the revenues and the increase of the public credit of the nation: and your Majefty may rely on the utmoft exertion of our zeal and industry for the further advancement of these important objects. "In order to promote, as far as in us lay, the common interest of all your Majefty's fubjects, we humbly laid before your Majefty in the laft feffion of parlia ment, feveral refolutions, as the basis of an adjustment of the commercial intercourfe between Great Britain and Ireland; but, as no effectual step has been hitherto taken thereupon by the parliament of that kingdom, we do not find ourselves at prefent enabled to make any farther progrefs in that falutary work. "We cannot refrain from offering the warmest expreffions of our gratitude, for your Majefty's gracious affurances of your earnest wish to enforce economy in every department: we fhall be equally ready at all times, to make fuch provifion as may be neceffary for every branch of the pub lic fervice, particularly for maintaining the naval strength of thefe kingdoms on the moft fecure and refpectable footing. Fully impreffed with the neceffity of eftablishing a fixed plan for the reduction of the national debt, we fhall lofe no time in entering on that important confideration; and it will afford us the most solid fatisfaction to find, that this most defirable object may be attained with little addition to the public burthens. "The vigour and refources fo happily manifefted in our prefent fituation must give encouragement and confidence to all The Humble ADDRESS of the HOUSE of your Majefty's fubjects, and cannot fail to COMMONS in Parliament affembled 25° Januarii, 1786. animate our exertions in endeavouring by a continued attention to the fecurity of the revenue, and the extenfion of trade, to confirm and improve the increasing profperity of the empire.” His MAJESTY'S MOST GRACIOUS ANSWER, Mr. Francis's Speech on Eaft India Affairs; in the Houfe of Commons, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 1786. Mr. Francis faid, that when he came into the House, he had no thoughts of taking part in any debate that might arife that day; that he feldom troubled the Houfe, and never long; that fome things which had fallen from Mr. Pitt, compelled him now to rife, and to requeft their attention for a few minutes. That Mr. Pitt in fpeaking of our affairs in India, had given a very flattering defcription of them, and had advanced many flattering affertions concerning them, which he could affure the House were totally groundless: that the reverfe of every thing which Mr. Pitt had affirmed was the truth, and that he would prove it to be fo from authority; which he was fure that Mr. Dundas at least, who ought to know fomething of the matter, would not controvert. That the Houfe had often heard the fame fort of language from Mr. Pitt: that, in former times he might have been excufeable in holding out hopes and promifes, on which it was poffible he himfelf might have depended; but that now, with the certain knowledge that all his profeffed hopes had been difappointed, and with the experience of two years before him, in which his promifes had completely failed, his continuing to hold the fame language was unpardonable. That Mr. Pitt had joined with the directors in deceiving the public, or at least had given them countenance in endeavouring to do fo. With respect to the state of the company's finances in India, Mr. Francis faid, that fo far from their being in that flourishing condition reprefented by Mr. Pitt, they were in as great or greater diftrefs than ever. That at Bombay they had no revenue at all proportioned to their current expence; that the bonded debt there now amounted to three millions fterling, which bore an intereft of nine per cent. per ann, and was continually increafing by half-yearly convertions of the intereft into capital. That he did not know what the amount of the debt at Madras might be, but he knew it was confiderable, and that that prefidency was finking under its diftreffes. In proof of this affertion, he read part of a letter from Mr. Mac. pherfon to the Court of Directors, dated 30th July, 1785, as follows:-" In the Carnatic your late orders have been carried into fome effect; the general ruin which that country has undergone from the devaftation of war, will keep your affairs in that quarter a long time in diftrefs." He then reminded the Houfe of the error, of which he had already convicted the Directors in their calculation and promifes exhibited to the House above two years ago. That he had convicted them of promifing a furplus of above a million and an half fterling, in the Bengal revenues on the ift of May, 1785, which they were to apply to the difcharge of their debts, but which, in effect, turned out a deficiency to more than that amount; fo that their eftimates had impofed upon parliament to the amount of more than three millions fterling in the revenues of one year. But the language then held in defence of that error, was, that their eftimate did not include fome expences which could not be foreseen; that it relied on favings, which, as it happened, could not be made in that fpecific year, and that it provided for all the arrears of the army, and all the outstanding charges of the war; but that in the enfuing year, no fimilar caufes of expence would exift; that wonderful reforms would take place, and manifold favings would arife out of them; that the revenues of Bengal would exhibit a furplus beyond all doubt and contradition, fufficient to make a confiderable diminution of their debt; that Mr. Pitt even now, continued to hold the fame fort of language, and talked of furplusses in the Indian revenue, under the inftant application of which all their debts and incumbrances would speedily be annihilated. Mr. Francis faid, he hoped that the Right Hon. Gentleman, when he talked of the actual exiftence of means to conftitute a powerful finking fund at home, fpoke with better knowledge and informa tion of the fubject than he appeared to poffefs concerning the Indian revenues: that fo far from having a furplus in Bengal, even in this third year of peace, when fo much economy had been promised, the balance of the eftimate of refources and difburféments for the year ending, May 1, 1785, was against the company to the amount of twelve hundred thousand pounds fterling: that their bonded debt and unfarisfied demands on the treasury, by the laft accounts, amounted to three millions fterling, and that this debt was evidently in a course of increate rather than diminu tion, and muft continue fo, as long as their current expences exceeded, as they full did, their current refources. With refpect to the boafted reform which had been fo much and so often spoken of, he faid, that it had yet produced no material effect effect, and in fupport of this, read another paffage from the letter from Mr. Macpherson as follows: "The great and most important work of a reform in the expences of this government, which was refolved upon, and in fome degree begun before the departure of Mr. Haftings, has been carried through under every influence that I conld exert, and every effort of the abilities of your prefent adminiftration. I muft, at the fame time regret, that the progrefs made in this falutary measure is not equal to my wifhes, nor has it in any very alleviating degree, relieved your diftreifes." With respect to the late India bill, the merits and good effects of which Mr. Pitt had exalted in high terms, Mr. Francis begged leave to remind the Houfe, that he had oppofed it in every ftage, without knowing or confidering how it was likely to be received in India. That he had oppofed it on what he thought the true principles of this conftitution, because it invaded the original and unalienable rights of a confiderable part of his fellow fubjects, which they had not acquired by their virtues, and, if they were ever fo criminal, could not forfeit by their crimes; that is, to be tried by a Jury of their Peers, however enormous the magnitude of their offences might be. That it was plain, he acted on this principle alone, fince it was well known that his connections with the gentlemen of India were not very intimate or extenfive; confequently, that there was no perfonal reason why he fhould be particularly forward in their de fence. That he knew many of them to be worthy men; but, if he had thought otherwife, his conduct would have been the fame. That it was very remarkable, that, while he had done his utmost to oppofe the bill, the perfons who fupported it moft ftrenuously, and who in effect carried it into a law, were the friends, the relations, and the companions of thofe against whom the law was to operate: that it was fhameful to fee the fame perfons, who, if wealth implied guilt, were the moft guilty who had returned from India loaded with fortune, and now fat in Parliament fecure against all enquiryto see these very persons making laws to reftrain and punith, with unheard-of feverity, others, at leaft as meritorious as themselves, and certainly more innocent, that is, as far as poverty implies innocence: That the only perfons upon whom the law would bear, and against whom it would operate, were thofe who had not acquired fortune enough to leave India before the time limited by the act for the commencement of the Inquifition; whereas, to all thofe who had already acquired fortune enough to be able to come to England before January 1787, this boafted law held out indulgence, fecurity, and protection; that is, it deferred the exertion and application of all its rigour, until those who ought to be the objects of its feverity had put themselves under fhelter, and out of the reach of enquiry.-Mr. Francis faid, that while the Bill was depending, he had spoken, of it with a deteftation and abhorrence which it might not be decent to apply to an exifting law: but he hoped, that before the end of the prefent feffion, he fhould fee fome attempt made to repeal this law entirely, or, if that could not be obtained, at least to repeal that part of it which invaded the rights and attacked the freedom of the nation at large: that he ftood upon the via antiqua of the conftitution, the unalienable right of every Englishman to a trial by his Peers; that Mr. Pitt had endeavoured to abolish the trial by Jury in one inftance, and defend it by arguments which would equally apply to other cafes and other claffes of men. That these were the steps by which the worst principles were gradually established, and the best political inftitutions fooner or later fubverted. That the fact of itfelf was dangerous, and the doctrines by which it was fupported equally weak and profligate : First, Mr. Pitt had declared, that military men, that our foldiers and failors, had voluntarily renounced that priviledge, of which the Eaft India Company's fervants were deprived by this law; and that at all events it was no hardship to thofe perfons, fince they were at liberty to chufe whether they would continue in the Company's fervice or not, and had fufficient time allowed them to make their option. That, in the first place, the conclufion drawn from the ftate and circmftances of military men, to the other members of the community, was falfe and abfurd. That if any army was admitted to be neceffary, it followed that military men must be governed by the ftrict rules of military difcipline; and that as to themfelves, they fuffered no injuftice, fince they previoufly knew what they had to trust to. But that if fuch a conclufion could fairly be drawn from the difcipline of the army to deprive the rest of the community of their civil rights, it was a reason fironger than any we had ever had, for curfing the in. troduction |
