The French have ever fince that treały been building forts upon our territories, almost round our frontiers in America; and they have fent troops thither to defend thöfe forts: Nay, they have lately By violence taken a fort from us; and have not only robbed and murdered many of our people, but have actually, in an open and hostile manner, attacked our troops in that part of the world. After fuch repeated, fuch defigned infults, fhall any fear whatever prevent our preparing to do ourselves juftice? Sorry I am, to hear fuch a fuggeftion from the mouth of any Englishman. If fuch a fuggeftion fhould have any weight with the people of this country, how juftly may it be faid, Quantum mutatus ab illo ! If we are fuing, Sir, if we are beging for a peace upon any terms, I fhall grant, that our preparations may offend our enemies: If we are refolved to accept of fuch a peace, as French allies may dictate to us, I fhall grant, that our preparations may of fend them. But if we are refolved to command an honourable peace, the more we are prepared, the more able we fhall be to command; the lefs will every nation in Europe be inclined to rifk joining with France against us for nations are pretty muck like old gamefters; they compare the chance they have of gaining, with the chance they have of lofing, and they never venture when they plainly fee that the odds are against them. This I am fure every gentleman will grant, who has the honour to be of that famous academy near St. James's; and confequently every fuch gentleman must, I think, be for this motion, because nothing can be more certain, than that the mote we are prepared for war, the more the odds will be against thofe that thall dare to join with France against this nation." There are; I know, fome nations in Europe, that are by treaty obliged to join with the French when they are unjustly attacked; but I likewife know, that no VOL. XIII. nation in Europe is obliged to join with the French when they are the aggreffors; and I also know, that the judgment of nations, as well as private men, is always ftrongly biaffed by their interest. How then are we to prevent the French being joined by any of their allies in a war against us upon the prefent occafion? Is it rot by making every nation in Europe think, that the French were the aggreffors? How are we to make every nation in Europe think fo? Is it not by making it their interest to think fo? How are we to make it their intereft to think fo? Is it not by fhewing them, that the odds will probably be against them? Can we do this any other way, but by fhewing them that we have prepared, and are refolved to vindicate the honour of our country against them, as well as France? Therefore, Sir, the moft effeaual way for preventing France being joined by any of her allies in a war against us, is to make all poffible preparations for war; and this will of courfe be the most effectual way for obtaining a fafe and honourable peace; for if the French court find, that they cannot prevail with any of their allies to join with them, I believe, they will be extremely cautious of coming to an open wat with this nation, as they can carry it on no where but by fea, and there we are fo much fuperior to them in power, that they can have no chance for fuccefs, if the war be managed on our fide with tolerable conduct. I fay, Sir, that the war can be carried on no where but by fea; for I may juftly and properly fay fo. when the armies on both fides muft be tranfported by fea; and if we pursue the plan that has been chalked out by an Hon. Friend of mine in this debate, we may very foon put it out of the power of France to send any troops to America, or to fupport those fhe has now there, or may have fent there before our declaration of war. From hence, Sir, I must conclude, Uu that that our prefent difputes with France fhould end in an open war, it can proceed from nothing but the late pufillanimous conduct of our minifters, and the contemptible opinion which the French court have of their capacity to conduct a war; and nothing can tend more towards confirming them in that opinion, than our putting a negative upon this motion. Then, Sir, as to the people of France, if they have now any hopes, that the fhips we have taken are to be restored, they cannot surely have any fuch hopes after all thofe fhips are condemned and appropriated to the captors; and as thofe fhips are not by the propofed bill to be condemned and appropriated, untill after a declaration of war, if the people of France have any influence upon their court, our paffing this bill will oblige them to make use of that influence, for inducing their court to come fpeedily to an amicable fettlement of all the difputes now fubfifting between us, in order to prevent a declaration of war, and in confequence thereof, a condemnation and appropriation of all the ships we have taken, or fhall hereafter take. Thus, Sir, in every light in which this bill can be viewed, it must appear to tend more towards bringing on a speedy, fafe, and honourable peace, than towards rendering a war unavoidable, and confequently muft tend towards removing or preventing all those flavish fears that have been thrown out upon this occafion. It muft tend towards obliging the court of France to give ear to any reafonable profers of peace: It must tend towards rendering the people of France follicitous for preventing a declaration of war; and it must tend towards preventing the allies of France from looking upon us as the aggreffors, or thinking themselves obliged to aflift France against us. Thefe, Sir, will be the happy effects of our agreeing to this motion; and the contrary, in every particular, will be the fatal effects of our putting a negativ Having now confidered what effects 1 confequences of our difagreeing to this But now, Sir, with regard to the motion, how muft it deprefs the fpirits of thofe feamen that are already in the publick fervice, how unwilling muft in make every feaman to enter into t publick fervice? Will any man of common fenfe willingly do fo, when he finds he can expect nothing but the and that at a time when he is fure of poor wages allowed by the publick; 1 expofed to the dangers of the fea. The wages even of our fea officers are but very inconfiderable: A fea lieutenant, when out of commission, and upon half pay, has but 28. a day, which is 361. 10s. a year. How ma wages, or a greater falary, without being ever expofed to any danger; and yet our fea lieutenants are, by his majefty's orders, to rank with a captain of foot. Therefore in juftice, as well as gratitude to our feamen, we ought to give them every other advantage in our power. having double the wages by continuing in the merchant fervice? Gentlemen may perhaps, chufe to disagree to this motion by means of the previous queftion; but our brave and blunt feamen do not understand fuch language. When they hear of fuch any of our civil officers have higher motion's having been made, and not agreed to, they will conclude, that it was rejected; and confequently will fuppofe, that our minifters are refolved to carry on this war in the fame manner they have begun it, without any formal declaration of war, in order that they may have an opportunity to enrich themselves by the prizes that are taken; nay, as all prizes would in fuch a cafe belong to the crown, I am afraid, left our feamen fhould carry their fufpicions higher than our minifters. God forbid! any of them fhould ever fufpect, that his majesty intends to enrich himfelf by a war. Those who know his generous and bountiful nature can have no fufpicion; but our feamen can have no fuch knowledge; and therefore, in duty to our fovereign, we ought to agree to this motion, in or der to prevent their entertaining any fuch fufpicion. In gratitude likewife, Sir, to our feamen, we ought to agree to this motion. To them this nation owes that internal tranquillity, which it has for fo many ages enjoyed. By them we have, for fo many ages, been protected from thofe inroads of hoftile armies, which other nations have often been expofed to. It may be truly faid, that, ever fince the invafion of the Danes, our internal tranquillity has never been disturbed but by civil broils amongst ourselves; and they deserve this encouragement the more, as the wages allotted them by the publick are but very small, and as their condition of life is harder, and the dangers they are exposed to are greater, than thofe of any other fort of military men. They pals a greater part of their life in a fort of prifon; and even in the most peaceable times they are After having thus answered every objection that has been made to this motion, and given fuch frong arguments for our agreeing to it, I hope, Sir, it will not be faid, that it proceeds from a French party in this houfe, as has been faid without doors of thofe who happen not to approve of every thing that has been done, or left undone, by our minifters. Nay, an infinuation has even been printed and publifhed, that 250,000l. had come from France, for creating an oppofition to the wife measures of our minifters. But I am fo far from being angry at this freedom, tho' it may juftly be called licentious, that I am glad to fee the prefs fo free. It makes me recolleft what I have somewhere read of one of the greateft generals of the Athenian commonwealth, who was accused by a moft low and abject citizen: Tho' the accufation was falfe, he was fo far from refenting it, that he rejoiced at it, and faid, he was glad to find that he had fo well established the liberties of his country, that an accufation might be brought by the meaneft citizen, against the greatest man in the republic: I hope, this will always be the cafe in this country; for tho it may be fometimes neceffary to punish licentioufnefs, yet even licentioufness itself ought not, I think, to be ever fo feverely punished, as may incroach upon the liberty of the prefs. This, indeed, will never happen, I believe, when the licentioufness is directed 1113 again against those who are in oppofition to minifters of ftate; but there is fome danger when it takes a contrary direction; and therefore even the punithment of licentiousness is an affair that may fometimes, deferve the attention of this house. The next that spoke was Cn. Fulvius, (H-n-y F-x,) whofe Speech was thus. Mr. President, SIR, TOWEVER contemptibly fome of popularity, may talk of fear, yet I hope they will not fay, that it is confiftent with common fenfe to be afraid of nothing; therefore I shall never be afhamed to own, that I am afraid of involving my country needlefsly in any war, and tho' I have as good an opinion as any man ought to have, of the power of my native country, and the courage and vigour of my countrymen, yet I fhall never be afhamed to own, that I am afraid of acting in fuch a manner, as may unite feveral powerful nations against us, when, by holding a different fort of conduct, we may prevent any fuch union.. Whilft we fit quiet and fafe in this houfe, gentlemen may talk in a high ftrain of national strength and courage, and of the contempt we have for our enemies: Such a way of talking is fure to be attended with the applaufe of the populace; and I fhall grant that thofe who are only to act, can never have too high an opinion of their ftrength and courage, or too great a contempt for their enemies; but thofe that are to direct, may err in both thefe refpects, and fuch an error has often been the caufe of the deflruction, both of themselves and thofe under their direction. Therefore, what ever way gentlemen may affect to talk in this houfe, I hope thofe who have the honour to be of his majefty's council, will take care never to form too high an opinion of our own Strength and courage, or too mean an 1 opinion of the ftrength and courage of those who are, or are like to be our enemies; and as we in this house are one of his majesty's great and fupreme councils, this care is, I think, a duty incumbent upon every gentleman who has the honour of a feat in this affembly. If we do our duty in this refpect, Sir, if we maturely and carefully examine all circumftances, I believe, we fhall find that the French are not fuch contemptible people, as to induce us, in prejudice, and without regard to involve purfelves in a war with that nation, if it can with honour be avoided, I am fure, we ought to take all poffible care not to furnish a pretence to the allies of France, for thinking that we are the aggreffors; therefore I 'muft think, that during this whole debate, gentlemen have never once confidered the importance of the monofyllable, now; and yet it is the hinge upon which the very marrow of this debate muft turn. If a war thould enfue, or if his majefty was convinced, that there was no longer any room to expect redress or fatisfaction by treaty, I fhall grant, that fome fuch bill as this would be neceffary; but the question is, if it be now neceffary. If it be not now neceffary, the ordering of fuch a bill to be brought in, can do but very little good, and may do a great deal of harm; all the good pretended to refult from it, is that of its inducing fome of our feamen to enter voluntarily into his majesty's fervice. Gentlemen who fuppofe that this would be any great inducement, muft have a very different opinion of our common feamen from what I have. They must fuppofe them to be very thoughtful, confiderate fort of men, and fuch as are ready to give up a fmall prefent advantage for a very great and future advantage in expectation'; whereas, I have always taken them to be the most thoughtless, inconfiderate fet of men in the kingdom, and fuch as have let's regard to futurity, I mean in this life, than than any other fort of men whatever. But fuppofe that this would be an inducement to fome feamen, to enter voluntarily into his majesty's fervice, could it have any great effect in a few weeks or in two or three months, which, in my opinion, is the longest time we can be in fufpence as to peace or war? I am almoft certain it would not, and I am the more certain, becaufe I believe there are now no feamen unemployed in the British dominions: They are all employed either in our navy or the merchant fervice, unless it be fuch as are just returned from a voyage, and have their pockets full of money, and these you cannot expect to enter, whilft they have a fhilling left in their pockets. For the caufe of our want of feamen at prefent, as well as upon every like occafion, is not owing fo much to their unwillingness to enter into the king's fervice, as to never having a fufficient stock of feamen, at the eve of a war, to fupply our trade and our navy; nor is it poflible, I think, to prevent this being always the cafe, by any other method but that of keeping a very large number of feamen in conftant pay and employment, in time of peace as well as war. Therefore, Sir, the utmost advantage we can expect by ordering any fuch bill to be brought in, a few weeks, or a few months, before it may become neceffary, is both uncertain and inconfiderable; but the harm it may do this nation is, I think, certain, and may be attended with utter ruin; confequently it requires no great fkill in the doctrine of chances, to determine what ought, in fuch a cafe, to be done. I fhall grant, Sir, that the judgment of nations as well as of private men is pretty much governed by what they take to be their intereft; but whilft France takes cate to prevent her neighbours conceiving a jealoufy of a too great increase of her power, I am afraid, that in a war between France and us, feveral of the nations in Europe would think it their intereft to join with France, notwithftanding the greateft preparations we could make, becaufe in the chances of war they would look upon the odds to be on the fide of France; and therefore in all our difputes with that nation, it is prudential in us, to conduct ourselves fo as to convince every nation in Europe that, if a war fhould enfue, it is not owing to injuftice on our fide, but to ambition on the fide of France; for as this would of courfe ftir up the jealoufy of the other powers of Europe, they would either ftand neuter in the war, or be ready, for the fake of their own prefervation, to join with us, if the chances of war should turn very much againft us. To prevent this, Sir, is the true caufe of that patience which has been hitherto fhewn by the court of France. They look upon themfelves, I fear, with too much juftice, as an overmatch for any one nation in Europe; therefore the only thing they have to fear, is that of raising fuch a jealousy of their power and ambition among their neighbours, as may produce a confederacy against them. This is the only nation in Europe from which, fingly, and alone, they have any thing to fear, becaufe they can attack us no way but by fea, and upon that element we are as yet fuperior to them, tho' in the courfe of a long war, by good conduct, and a few accidents in their favour, they may become fuperior to us even at fea. However, as this would be tedious, dangerous, and expenfive, they are ufing all their art to perfuade all their allies, that we are the aggreffors, in order to get them to join against us. How are we to prevent the fuccefs of the French in this attempt? Not by doing what we ourselves think we may juftly do, for vindicating of our pof feflions and our rights in America; but by doing no more than what the allies of France think we may july do; and from hence every one must be convinced, that if we had begun a war with France in the manner chalked out |