While thefe matters were pending, the vote of credit for the fum of two millions and a half, brought in and already twice read, was ftopped in its progrefs by Mr. Grey, who contended, from what had paffed, that the house ought to be on its guard against the appropriation of money at the will of the minifter. A vote of credit, he obferved, was to enable the executive power to meet expences unforeseen and unprovided for, but not to discharge debts already contracted, without the fanction of parliament.

Mr. Pitt replied, that the vote of credit having been specified in the estimate of ways and means, its application was fubject to the investigation of parliament. It conftituted a fund ready at hand for exigencies, without encumbering the expences of the enfuing

year.

Mr. Fox obferved, that the money voted by a bill of credit was not iffuable till an exigency appeared, whereas the money voted upon estimate of the expence was immediately provided. Votes of credit were not intended to fupply the deficiency of eftimates, but merely to answer unforeseen occurrences in the abfence of parliament. The bill, after fome additional remarks of the fame nature by Mr. Sheridan, went through a third reading, by a majority of feventy-feven.

It underwent a fimilar oppofition in the house of lords, where the duke of Grafton and the earl of Lauderdale ufed much the fame arguments against it as in the commons, and took occafion, at the fame time, to exprefs their difapprobation of the Hamburgh bills, but it pafled in the affirmative.

1

The

Some of the new taxes were alfo oppofed in the lower houfe, That upon tobacco was reprefented as bearing too heavily upon the lower clafles. Through general Tarleton's interference, the foldiers on board were allowed to be fupplied with it, duty free. horfe-tax was alfo taken off thofe employed in the yeomanry cavalry. Free-holders, from ten to fifteen pounds a year, and people holding farms of leventy, or freeholds of thirty-five pounds a year, were allo exempted from it; and the tax on printed cottons was intirely given up.

The duty impofed on legacies met with a strong oppofition. It was objected to by Mr. Newnham, as of too inquifitorial a tendency into the affairs of families, and particularly of commercial people; it would prejudice illegitimate children, faithful domeftics, and old friends. He was ably feconded by Mr. Fox, who enlarged confiderably on all his arguments.

They were replied to by the folicitor-general, who obferved, that the principle of the bill was founded on a law of the fame import already in force. The tax took nothing from actual poffeffion, and its bringing private property to light was no valid objection, as private credit would thereby be confirmed.

The tax was ftrongly fupported by the attorney-general. He particularly noticed the cafe of illegitimate children, who, instead of being injured by it, were, if acknowledged by the teftator, intitled to the exception allowed by the act to lineal defcent. The bill, after fome farther difcuffion, palled by a majority of seventy-eight.

[E4]

In

In the house of lords it was vehemently opposed by lord Lauderdale, as tending gradually to diminish the importance of that houfe, by leffening the opulence of its members, fuch numbers of whom came to their honours and fortunes through collateral fucceffion. He inftanced the duke of Norfolk, who muft, if fuch an act had fubfifted, have been a lofer by fix hundred thousand pounds, taken from the family which he reprefented. The bill, however, was carried.

The tax on collateral fucceffion to real estates was more fuccefsfully oppofed in the house of commons, where it evidently appeared fo obnoxious, that Mr. Pitt found himfelf under the neceffity of totally relinquishing it.

On the eight of December, a meffage was delivered from the king to the house of commons, informing them of his difpofition to enter into a negociation for peace with the present government of France. Mr. Pitt thereon moved an addrefs, expreffive of their readinefs to concur in fuch a measure,

Mr. Sheridan avowed himself of opinion, that the intention of the minister was to fruftrate the motion for peace of which Mr. Grey had given notice. What other motives could induce the minifter to this change of language refpecting the French, whom he had fo lately represented as unable to continue the war, and on the brink of deftruction. The men who governed that country were the fame who had put the king to death, and with whom, our miniftry had declared, no fettled order of things could ever take place. But, whoever were the governors of France, Mr. Sheridan infifted, that no reafon of

that fort ought to prevent an accommodation, and he moved an amendment to the addrefs, to fignify the concern of the house, that any form of government in that country should induce the king to be averfe to peace; and to requeft that, fetting afide all confiderations of that nature, he would direct his minifters to treat with the enemy on fafe and honourable terms. He was fecond- ed by Mr. Grey, who advanced a variety of facts and reafonings upon them to prove the propriety of treating.

Until the prefent opportunity, Mr. Pitt replied, none had offered to encourage ideas of peace, which, however, had not been prevented by the mere exiftence of a republic in France, but by a total ablence of any fpecies of regular government. The change now was mas nifeft: the new conftitution was contrary to the doctrine of univerfal equality; the French had now a mixed form of government, admitting of diftinétions in society; and their legiflature was not conftructed on a pure democracy. This fully authorized miniftry to confider them in quite another light than formerly; but did not furnish any pretence for depriving minifters of their right to act in the name of the executive power, without undue interference, which muft certainly be the cafe, were the amendment to be adopted.

Mr. Fox feverely reprehended miniftry for pretending that, till now, the government of France was incapable of maintaining the relations of peace and amity with other nations. They had maintained them fucceffively with every power they had treated, with; nor was the character of the prefent

rulers

rulers of that country more favourable to the preferving of fuch relations. Minifters ought, in the mean time, to be reminded with what powers they had not fcrupled to enter into treaties of amity, and of what deeds they had, in confequence, been the abettors. Mr. Fox reviewed the events of the war with great accuracy and precifion, with a view of fhewing the ill management of those who had conducted it. He ridiculed the idea, that the French were more deferving of confidence on account of their new conftitution; their principles were ftill the fame, though they had adopted another mode of ruling. But neither those principles, nor their antecedent government, ought to have been made the pretext for waging a war of extermination. It was time to end it on any conditions, not derogatory to the dignity of this country; and miniftry ought no longer to be fuffered to protract the war, on the pretence they had fo continually, but falfely, alleged, of incapacity in the enemy to maintain a good understanding.

The fentiments of Mr. Dundas were, that to offer terms of peace to the enemy would he attended with no difgrace, but that minifters, in fuch case, should be left to act difcretionally, and not to be compelled to make a peace of which they difapproved. The amend ment, for that reafon, was inequitable, as it fettered their operations against all experience and precedent. He denied the object of the war to be the restoration of defpotilm in France, or that this country could have indulged the hope of an advantageous peace till the prefent period. Less than a year before,

the fucceffes of the French had rendered them untractable, and it was only fince their late defeats that reafonable men had begun to hope for equitable conditions. Never before had they, during the whole of this war, condefcended to exprefs the leaft willingness to reconciliation. The king's meflage could not have been delivered at a fitter opportunity: the fupplies for the continuance of the war had been granted, and the nation had proved itself able and willing to maintain the conteft. This was exactly the fituation in which we should appear to the enemy, upon whom it would doubtless make that impreffion which was intended. It would convince the French, that, however we might be defirous of peace, we were ready for war, and not difpofed to treat on difhonourable terms. The debate clofed by rejecting the amendment and carrying the addrefs. A fimilar one to this was, on the next day, tenth of December, propofed and passed in the houfe of lords,

On the fifteen of February, Mr. Grey introduced his motion for peace by a speech, wherein he obferved, that, contrary to general expectation, the miniftry, in lieu of a negociation for peace, were making preparations for a continuation of the war. But with what well-grounded hope of fuccefs could they perfift in this unfortunate fyftem? There was no confidence nor unity of views in the remaining parts of the coalition; and yet this country was to bear the weight of this pretended alliance in favour of the common intereft of Europe. The public was exhorted to rely on the difcretion of minifters: but were

they worthy of any truft, after be

ing deceived in their allies in the moft material points, and ftill expreffing a forwardnefs to depend on promifes fo frequently reiterated and fo repeatedly broken, whenever induced by the flighteft intereft to falfify their word. The French, it was now acknowledged, were in a fituation to be treated with; we ought, therefore, no longer to ftand aloof. He would confequently move for an addrefs to the king, requefting him to communicate to the executive government in France his readiness to embrace any opportunity of coinciding with them in mutual endeavours for the re-establishment of peace.

The fituation of affairs, it was replied by Mr. Pitt, was fuch, that it could be no humiliation to this country to be the firft in proferring peace; but the conducting of a negociation, and when to time it, belonged folely to minifters. If they were deemed unworthy of fuch a truft, their opponents ought to petition for their removal; but while they continued in office, they alone could be the proper agents in fuch a tranfaction; they ought, on this principle, to act unitedly, not only among themselves, but with the allies of this country, to whom no caufe fhould be given to fufpect us of duplicity, and of not acting in the fincercft conjunction with them. If they remained entire, fo powerful a confederacy could not, in the nature of things, fail, by perfeverence and unanimity, to obtain, finally, an advantageous peace; but this defirable object depended on the moderation of the enemy. All had been done, confiftently with honour and intereft, to bring him to this iffue; but neither of these would be facrificed. Confidering

the temper of our enemies, and how much they were inflamed by the preffure of circumftances, to give up their inordinate pretenfions, peace would probably depend on the difficulty they would find to profecute the war, and the profpect of it might not, of course, be fo near as wifhed or expected.

We

Whatever fuccefs our arms might have in future, ftill we ought not, faid Mr. Fox, to prefume that a better feafon for treating than the prefent would occur. There was a time when the enemy could not ftand before the confederacy, and was driven from every place he had occupied abroad, and forced to retire for helter into his own country. What fituation could be more profperous for the coalition? But it did not think the French fufficiently humbled and depreffed, and loft an opportunity that would never return. complained of that decree of the convention, by which they threatened interference in the affairs of other countries; but as they had folemnly refcinded it as offenfive to us, why did not we difclaim all interference in their own concerns? why had no fteps been taken towards a pacification, as the public had been given to hope they would certainly be popular in this country and not difpleafing to our allies nor to all Europe, which looked anxioufly for fuch an event. The great obftacle to peace was the animofity between the French and their enemies. This fhould be removed preferably to all other obftructions. This might be done by offering them reasonable conditions, which would difarm an enemy much fooner than violence and obftinacy. It was not furprizing the French fhould be exafperated, when we

spoke

fpoke of them fo contemptuously, and even fent an ambaffador to the person who called himself their king. It was illufory, in the mean time, to buoy up the fpirits of the people, by telling them to look at the diftreffes of the French, as if they were any mitigation of their own. Thefe were no arguments to lay before men who had fuffered fo much for the profufion and ill fuccefs that had fo ufually accompanied minifterial meafures. The

opponents to these were arrogantly admonished, that it was the royal prerogative only to decide of peace and when to conclude it: bát minifters alfo fhould be reminded, that it was no less the prerogative of the commons of England to interpofe their advice, both as to the time and the conditions that were feasonable. On clofing the debate, fifty divided for the motion, and one hundred and ninety against it.

CHAP.