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different manufacturing towns, upon the the national safety; and secondly, whemodel of the Jacobin societies in France, ther the laws authorized such a measure. where the utmost art and industry had, In the circumstances which he had stated, been employed to inflame the passions any one insurrection whatever rendered and mislead the judgment of the lower this measure legal. Other motives not only classes, and where the doctrines inculcated justified it, but rendered it highly prudent. might be supposed to be attended with An insurrection, though not immediately the worst effect. These societies carried directed against government, might give on correspondence with the societies and to the seditious an opportunity of striking councils of France, and received from the blow which they meditated. An inthem assurances of support. In addition surrection which called out the military to all this, we have seen a code of laws (who during the time of peace were not adopted in France hostile to every more than sufficient for ordinary purother government, a system of anar- poses), laid the country at the mercy of chy and ambition, setting at defiance the seditious, and deprived it of all means all regular authority, and treating as of protection. Such was the general unlawful every thing which has been view of the state of affairs, combined with sanctioned by the laws of other coun- which there was a necessity of taking tries. They had witnessed the ef- some measure against that influx of fofects of this anarchy in the country in reigners which had poured into the counwhich it had taken place: they had seen try. While nearly all that House, and the progress of that ambition extending all the country agreed with respect to the same anarchy to other countries. the existence of danger, there were ten Their new law of nations went to esta- or fifteen in the House, who completely blish their government wherever they denied it; but even these could not agree should carry their arms. As their ambi- with regard to the degree of its non-extion was unbounded, so the anarchy istence. In this respect, they were inconwhich they hoped to establish was uni-sistent with one another, and in some inversal. From the conduct which they stances, inconsistent with themselves. had already exhibited, a judgment might The right hon. gentleman who spoke last, be formed of the future course which they though he disapproved of the principles would pursue. Under the specious pre- upon which the French acted, and was text of promoting the cause of freedom, afraid of the progress of their arms, was they had shown no scruple to annex the not afraid of the progress of their opiterritories of their neighbours to their nions in this country. On this score he own dominions, and to force upon the in-apprehended nothing, though it was partihabitants of the countries which they had entered, that freedom, which they were unwilling to receive, and of which certainly the state of their own country did not afford a very flattering specimen. Their own declarations had shown that their views were not confined to particular countries; that their object was every where to propagate their own system, by all the means which art, industry, or force, could supply. When there were men in this country connected with a people actuated by such principles, and pursuing such a system, it surely became a matter of the most serious consideration. Such being the state of circumstances, he put it to the hearts, consciences, judgments and understandings of gentlemen present, whether there was not serious ground of alarm? He had been told, that the measure of calling out the militia had excited this alarm. With respect to this, there were two questions; first, whether the measure was prudent, and expedient for

cularly the interest, and had always been the policy of the French to sow divisions in those countries; against which they entertained views of hostility-a policy which, in the present instance, could not be better answered, than by propagating their sentiments. Opinions, that right hon. gentleman had stated, were not to be opposed by force; they were to be resisted, first by neglect and contempt, the mode of which he seemed most to approve; secondly, by argument and reasoning; and lastly, by prosecution, which, however, he did not greatly commend. He would only ask, what sort of opinions were those to which the right hon. gentleman had alluded ? Serious and conscientious opinions, founded upon sober and dispassionate reasoning, ought always to be treated with deference; but surely, with regard to wild and violent notions, assuming the name of opinions, but tending to overturn every established government, and to introduce anarchy

and confusion, a different mode of conduct was to be observed. Those opinions which the French entertained were of the most dangerous nature; they were opinions professed by interest, inflamed by passion, propagated by delusion, which their successes had carried to the utmost excess, and had contributed to render still more dangerous. For, would the right hon. gentleman tell him that the French opinions received no additional weight from the success of their armies? Was it possible to separate between the progress of their opinions and the success of their arms? It was evident that the one must influence the other, and that the diffusion of their principles must keep pace with the extent of their victories. He was not afraid of the progress of French principles in this country, unless the defence of the country should previously be undermined by the introduction of these principles.

the 19th of November. By this decree, the French engaged to assist all people in procuring their freedom-such a freedom, he supposed, as they themselves enjoyed. We had seen French freedom in definition; we had seen it in illustration; and we had now an opportunity of comparing the theory with the practice. Their conduct in Flanders afforded a specimen of the nature of their freedom. They had there endeavoured to propagate their doctrines, but finding the inhabitants not disposed to give them so favourable a reception as they could have wished, they had taken the method of inculcating opinions of freedom by force. Their general had issued a proclamation, that whoever should not embrace the tree of liberty, should be cut off as a wretch unfit to live. The noble earl had talked of their having given an explanation with respect to this decree. What sort of explanation had they given? They had

A noble earl had said, that if a war stated that it was not their intention to should take place, the blame of that war assist a few individuals, but only to intermust entirely belong to ministers. He fere in cases where a great majority of would here beg leave to refer to the con- the people should be disposed to shake duct of France. She had first denied the off their government; so that, in fact, it obligation of a treaty, which, though was their intention to promote rebellion sometimes called absolute, had been con- in other countries, and to declare war sidered as the corner-stone of the balance against all established governments. of Europe, and repeatedly renewed; This sort of war was a war against all lewhich had been coeval with the establish- gitimate power, and which was only to ment of Dutch freedom, and was in fact terminate in its extinction. Formerly, necessary to the existence of the inde- the splendour of conquest had in some pendence of Holland-a treaty in which measure been pursued by the respect France could have no concern, except in which had been paid to the government fulfilment of its own stipulation, to guard and rights of the conquered. The Roit against infringement and which could mans were careful to preserve the goonly be matter of question between the vernment, the habits, and customs of sovereign of the Dutch republic, and the those nations which they had vanquished, sovereign of the Austrian Netherlands. considering that as the best security for France could only have one of two mo- their conquests. For the present age tives for interference-either as assuming had been reserved the idea of a war of to act as sovereign of the Netherlands, or extirpation-a war which should tend to because she has proclaimed a new code annihilate whatever had been held most of the law of nations, by which she pre- dear and valuable. This was a sort of sumes to dictate to every country and to war which had. never been carried on model every government by her own even by despots, and which was only exstandard. Could we then, in this coun- emplified in the conduct of those modern try, without abandoning the faith due to republicans who held out a system of an ally, submit to so insolent and unjust what they called freedom and happiness. a claim as that of opening the Scheldt on An hon. major had declared, that the the part of the French. But they af- whole of the danger which had been held fected, upon their present system, to des- out, and the consequent alarm which had pise all treaties, and to regard the one in been excited in this country, was a mere question as extorted by avarice, and con- delusion, effected by the artifices of mi sented to through despotism. The se- nisters. That hon. gentleman had at the cond circumstance to which he should same time stated, that the uniform miscall their attention was, their decree of conduct of ministers, since they came into

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power, was sufficient to have occasioned all the mischiefs which had been described, and to bring any country into a state of the greatest calamity. If this was the case, he, for one, could not but rejoice, that all these mischiefs and all this calamity amounted to nothing more than delusion. And while the hon. gentleman had deprecated all the evils brought on the country by the misconduct of ministers, and particularly the danger of a war, to which it might be exposed, he had represented the present state of prosperity to be so great as to render it improper to go into this war. He should not attempt to reply to these arguments until they were a little more consistent. A noble marquis had accused ministers with want of care, in not having sooner prosecuted those seditious publications which had occasioned so much alarm. He should only say, that ministers had been charged by other hon. gentlemen with having gone too far in the way of prosecution. He trusted it would appear, that there had been no want of vigilance on the part of ministers. Within the two or three last years, many seditious writings had been published, but it was not till last year that they had assumed so much importance, as to render them fit objects of the attention of ministers. The proclamation had then been issued, a measure which the noble marquis and others of his friends approved, in which they had engaged to co-operate; and, had it appeared to them that there were any seditious publications which had escaped attention, and ought to have been punished, it was their duty to have fulfilled their pledge of concurring in the measures of the proclamation, by bring ing these forward to notice. The noble marquis had likewise accused ministers with having occasioned the present dan ger, by their neglect, which they might have obviated by earlier preparation, and a more speedy interference. He would only remark, that it was not till lately that the danger had been brought near to this country and its allies. It was only the retreat of the duke of Brunswick, and the success of the French arms, with the consequences that had followed, events so rapid and unexpected, which it was impossible to foresee, and which defied even the smallest conjecture, which rendered the danger so imminent, and the necessity of preparations so urgent on the part of this country. It was not

till lately the situation of affairs had occurred, productive of so much alarm to our allies, and which rendered indispensable that some active measures should be adopted. If the retreat of the duke of Brunswick was sudden, and contrary to every view which was then entertained, no less so had been the events by which it had been followed. The progress of French arms, and the enlargement of their views of ambition in proportion to the extent of their conquests, the effects of their new doctrine of the law of nations, had all succeeded one another so quickly, as to afford no time for precaution. The danger had made an alarming progress before any means could be taken to prevent it. It was not till lately that the opening of the Scheldt had occurred; an infringement of the stipu lations of treaties, and an invasion of the rights of our allies, the Dutch, which rendered it absolutely necessary for this country to interfere, more especially as it seemed to open the way for farther violations of treaty, and more extended acquisitions of conquest. It was not till the 19th of November that the decree had passed, which menaced hostility to every government. As soon as the danger could be ascertained, measures had been taken to meet it, and there had been no want of vigilance on the part of ministers. He trusted that they would all concur to meet the present emergence by suitable measures, to obviate the dan. ger by the most effectual means which could be devised, and unite their strength for the safety of the country, and in support of the constitution.

The report of the bill was then agreed to; after which the bill was read a third time and passed.

The King's Message relative to the Correspondence between M. Chauvelin and Lord Grenville-And for an Augmentation of the Forces.] Jan. 28. Mr. Secretary Dundas presented the following Message from his Majesty:

"GEORGE R.

"His Majesty has given directions for laying before the House of Commons, copies of several Papers which have been received from Mr. Chauvelin, late minister plenipotentiary from the Most Christian king, by his Majesty's secretary of state for foreign affairs, and of the Answers returned thereto; and likewise copy of an Order made by his Majesty

in council, and transmitted by his Majesty's commands to the said Mr. Chauvelin, in consequence of the accounts of the atrocious act recently perpetrated at Paris.

"In the present situation of affairs, his Majesty thinks it indispensably necessary to make a further Augmentation of his Forces by sea and land; and relies on the known affection and zeal of the House of Commons to enable his Majesty to take the most effectual measures, in the present important conjuncture, for maintaining the security and rights of his own dominions; for supporting his allies; and for opposing views of aggrandizement and ambition on the part of France, which would be at all times dangerous to the general interests of Europe, but are peculiarly so, when connected with the propagation of principles which lead to the violation of the most sacred duties, and are utterly subversive of the peace and order of all civil society.

G. R.".

The Message was ordered to be taken into consideration on the 31st. instant.

Correspondence between M. Chauvelin and Lord Grenville.] Mr. Secretary Dundas presented to the House, by his Majesty's command, the following

COPIES OF CORRESPONDENCE BE-
TWEEN M. CHAUVELIN AND LORD
GRENVILLE.

No. I.-NOTE delivered by M. Chauvelin

to lord Grenville, May 12th, 1792.

The undersigned minister plenipotentiary of his majesty the king of the French, is ordered by his court to transmit to his excellency lord Grenville, secretary of state to his Britannic majesty for the department of foreign affairs, the following Note:

The king of the French, in sending a minister plenipotentiary to London, has espe cially charged him to commence his mission by manifesting to the British government the powerful reasons which have determined France to a war with the king of Hungary and Bohemia. He has thought that he owes this manifestation to the purity of the intentions which animate him, as well as to the laws of good neighbourhood, and to the value which he attaches to every thing which may maintain confidence and friendship between two empires, who have at this moment, more than ever, reasons for drawing near each other, and uniting themselves together.

Having become king of a free nation, after having sworn to support the constitution it

has given herself, he cannot but deeply feel all the attacks designed against that constitution; and his probity alone would have induced him to prevent and combat them. The king has seen a great conspiracy formed against France, the agents of this league concealing, under an insulting pity for him, the preparations of their designs; and his majesty has had the grief to count among them Frenchmen, whose fidelity appeared to be guaranteed by so many powerful motives and private ties.

The king has not been sparing of the means of persuasion to bring them back to their duty, and to break this threatening league, which supported and strengthened their guilty hopes. But the emperor Leopold, the promoter and declared leader of this great conspiracy, and after his decease Francis, king of Hungary and Bohemia, have never sincerely answered any of the candid and reiterated demands of the king.

After being wearied by delays and vague answers, the impatience of the French increasing daily by new provocations, those princes have successively avowed the coalition of the powers against France. They never justified themselves for the part they had taken in it, or for that they were still taking. Far from showing themselves disposed to dissolve it by their influence, they have sought to connect it with facts, which in the first place were foreign to it, and upon which France has never refused doing justice to the interested parties. And, as if the king of Hungary were desirous of consecrating the perpetuity of the attack he makes on the sovereignty of the French empire, he has declared that this coalition, equally injurious to the king and to the nation, could not cease until France should remove the serious causes

which had given rise to it, that is to say, so long as France, jealous of her independence, would not give up the smallest point of her new constitution.

Such an answer, preceded and supported by preparations most evidently hostile, and by an ill-concealed protection of the rebels, must have appeared to the National Assembly, to the king, and to all France, as a manifest aggression; for it is commencing war to announce that troops are assembled and called in all quarters, in order to constrain the inhabitants of a country to alter the form of government which they have freely chosen, and sworn to defend.

Such is the sense and, as it were, the substance, of all the evasive answers of the emperor and king of Ilungary's ministers, to the simple and candid explanations which the king required of them.

Thus the king saw himself forced into a war, which was already declared against him; but, religiously faithful to the principles of the constitution, whatever may finally be the fate of arms in this war, France rejects all ideas of aggrandizement. She will preserve her limits,

on his part respecting all the stipulations of this treaty. The minister plenipotentiary of France, CHAUVELIN.

her liberty, her constitution, her inalienable right of reforming herself, whenever she may think proper: she will never consent that, under any relation, foreign powers should attempt to dictate, or even dare to nourish a hope of dictating laws to her. But this very pride, so natural and so just, is a sure pledge to all the powers, from whom she shall have received no provocation, not only of her constantly pacific dispositions, but also of the respect which the French will know how to show, at all times, for the laws, the customs, and all the forms of government of different nations.

The king, indeed, wishes it to be known, that he would publicly and severely disavow all those of his agents at foreign courts in peace with France, who should dare to depart an instant from that respect, either by fomenting or favouring insurrections against the established order, or by interfering in any manner whatever in the interior policy of such states, under pretence of a proselytism, which, exercised in the dominions of friendly -powers, would be a real violation of the law of nations.

The king hopes that the British government will see in this exposition the incontrovertible justice, and the necessity of the war, which the French nation maintains against the king of Hungary and Bohemia; and that he will moreover find in it that common principle of liberty and independence, of which they ought not to be less jealous than France. For England is free likewise, because she determined to be so; and assuredly she did not suffer other powers to attempt to compel her to alter the constitution she had adopted, to lend the smallest assistance to rebellious subjects, or to pretend to interfere, under any pretence, in her interior disputes.

Persuaded that his Britannic majesty is not less ardently desirous than himself of seeing the good understanding and union between the two countries consolidated and strengthened, the king demands, that, conformably to the 4th article of the treaty of navigation and commerce of the 26th September 1786, his Britannic majesty shall remind all his subjects, of Great Britain and Ireland, and publish it in the accustomed manner, in those two kingdoms, and in the islands and countries dependent upon them, an express prohibition to exercise against France, or against the ships of France, any hostility, by cruizing on the seas, or to take out any patent, commission, or letters of reprisals, from the different princes or states who are or shall be at war with France; or to make use, in any manner, of such patents or commissions.

The king requires besides, that all the articles of the aforesaid treaty, which relate to the case of one of the contracting powers being at war, and especially the 3d, 16th, 24th, 39th, 40th, and 41st articles, shall be punctually observed and executed, in the same manner as his majesty is determined to act [VOL. XXX.

London, 12 May 1792, 4th year of French Liberty. No. II-NOTE from Lord Grenville, to M. Chauvelin, dated Whitehall, May 24th,

1792.

The undersigned secretary of state to the king has had the honour of laying before his majesty the official note which M. Chauvelin transmitted to him the 15th instant. He has orders to testify to that minister how truly sensible his majesty ever is to the proofs of friendship and confidence which he receives on the part of his most Christian majesty, and with how much sincerity he returns them by sentiments perfectly reciprocal.

His majesty could not learn without the deepest regret that a war has broken out between his most Christian majesty and his majesty the king of Hungary and Bohemia. This sentiment is equally inspired by his love for humanity, by the interest he takes in the maintaining the tranquillity of Europe, and by his sincere wishes for the personal happiness of their most Christian and apostolic majesties, and for the prosperity of their dominions. In the present circumstances he thinks it right to abstain from entering into a discussion of the motives and the steps on each side which have brought on a rupture so afflicting to a sovereign, the neighbour and friend of the two belligerent parties

Confining himself, therefore, to expressions of the wishes he will never cease to form for the speedy and permanent re-establishment of peace, he does not hesitate, however, to give to his most Christian majesty the direct and positive assurance of his readiness to fulfil, in the most exact manner, the stipulations of the treaty of navigation and commerce of which his most Christian majesty requires the execution.

Faithful to all his engagements, his majesty will pay the strictest attention to the preservation of the good understanding which so happily subsists between him and his most Christian majesty; expecting with confidence, that, animated with the same sentiments, his most Christian majesty will not fail to contribute to the same end, by causing, on his part, the rights of his majesty and his allies to be respected, and by rigorously forbidding any step which might affect the friendship which his majesty has ever desired to consolidate and perpetuate for the happiness of the two

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