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ing deceived in their allies in the moft material points, and fill expreffing a forwardnefs to depend on promifes fo frequently reiterated and fo repeatedly broken, when ever 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 fruft, 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 themfelves, 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 fincereft 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, nally, 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 thefe 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 courfe, be fo near as wifhed or expected.

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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 stand before the confederacy, and was driven from every place he had occupied abroad, and forced to retire for thelter 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 ani mofity 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

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Ipoke of them fo contemptuoufly, and even fent an ambalador to the person who called himself their king. It was illufory, in the mean tine, to buoy up the fpirits of the people, by telling them to look at the diftrefles of the French, as if they were any mitigation of their own. These were no arguments to lay before men who had fuffered fo much for the profufion and ill Yaccefs that had fo ufually accompanied minifterial measures. The

opponents to thefe were arrogantly admonished, that it was the royal prerogative only to decide of peace and when to conclude it: but miifters alfo fhould be reminded, that it was no lefs 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.

CHAP. IV.

Free Negroes in the land of Jamaica.-Hunted by Blood-Hounds.-Motion by Mr. Grey, in the Houfe of Commons, for an Inquiry into the State the Nation. Negatived.-Farther Taxes.-For paying the Intereft of additional Loan.-Mortality among the Troops fent against the Fre Weft-India Islands.-Neglect and Diftreffes of the Troops.-Motion Documents on thefe Subjects by Mr. Sheridan.-Debates thereon.-M Sheridan's Motion agreed to.-Motion, in the House of Peers, for Production of Papers refpecting a Vole of Parliament, in 1783, recogniz the Neceffity of certain Public Reforms.-Debates thereon.—The Mo negatived.-Report of the Committee of Supply on the Refolution e granting a Subfidy to the King of Sardinia.-Converfation on that Sub -Charges laid against Ministry, by Mr. Grey, as Ground of Impe ment; and a Motion on that Subject.-Negatived.-Motions, in bɩ Houfes of Parliament, against the Continuation of the War. -Negatived. Motion, by Mr. Wilberforce, for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade, on certain Day.-Negatived. The Seffion of Parliament clofed by a Spei from the Throne

THE
HE hoftilities against the free
negroes, in the ifland of Ja-
maica, known by the denomination
of maroons, had been carried on a
long time without effect. The force
employed against them amounted
to five thousand men; but the dif-
ficulty of coming at their reccffes,
and frequently of difcovering them,
had fruftrated the repeated attempts
of this force, though it had omitted
nothing that valour and perfeve-
rance could fuggeft: and yet, thofe
maroons were but a handful of men,
hardly confifting of fix hundred
bearing arms. The improbability
of compelling them to fubmit, by
the ufual methods of fighting, in-
duced the government of Jamaica,
as ftated in our laft volume, to have
recourfe to the mode adopted by
the Spaniards in fimilar cafes. It
applied to the Spanish inhabitants
of the ifland of Cuba, and obtained

from them a hundred blood-hou
with twenty men, expert in
training and conducting of th
With this fupply, the military F
trated into the interior pars
the mountainous and woody coun-
try, occupied by the maroons, and
compelled them to furrender.
They were transported to the
British provinces in North Ame
rica.

Though, as afterwards fully ap-
peared in the fubfequent feflion of
parliament, the goverment of Ja-
maica had not incurred the guilt
of either barbarity or breach of
faith, yet an erroneous conviction
that the blood-hounds had bee
employed, not only to track €:
the maroons, but to tear for
mangle them, excited a pret the
neral outcry. No degree
litical expediency could
the adoption of fuch a

erip

and me nith

S

Spanish cruelty, it was faid, afforded no precedent or excufe for English

men.

General Macleod brought this fubject into the houfe of commons, on the twenty fixth of February, and complained of the difgrace attending fuch a meafure. He was anfwered, that it was a matter of neceflity, and not of choice; that the maroons maflacring, without mercy, every one that fell into their hands, they could be confidered in no other light than murderers, and deferved extermination by any means that could be employed to that purpose.

The general moved, however, on the twenty-firft of March, for an addrefs to the king, requesting he would direct the papers, concerning the maroon-war, to be laid before the houfe. He grounded his motion on a letter from Jamaica, ftating he facts above-mentioned: he defcribed the maroons as a free people, proprietors of the country they inhabited. He mentioned it, as cuftomary among the Spaniards, in Cuba, to feed their blood-hounds on human flesh, in order to render them ferocious but could a British parlament, he faid, connive at fuch atrocities, and encourage fo inhuman a fpirit in British officers and foldiers?

Mr. Dundas replied, that the maroons had commenced hoftilities againft our people, at Jamaica, without any reasonable provocation, and had exercifed great barbarities in profecuting them. It was their practice to fally forth from their faftneffes in the night, and to furprize the planters; multitudes of whom they maffacred: after which, they retreated to the woods and mountains, the passes to which were

inacreffible. In fuch circumstances our people could not be blamed for employing the neceffary means to fecure themfelves, and to annoy fo ferocious an enemy. The motion, therefore, he faid, was not fufficiently grounded, to comply with it, without an accurate inquiry into particulars. The mere rumour, however, he acknowledged, had induced miniftry to fignify its difapprobation of fuch a measure to the government at Jamaica.

On Mr. Dundas's affuring the general that dispatches of this tenor had been fent, he withdrew his motion: not however till Mr. Sheridan expatiated on the fubject, in anfwer to Mr. Barham, who had reprefenied the maroons as rebels; but whom the former juftified, in their refentment of the punishment inflicted upon one of their people, who ought, according to treaty, to have been delivered up to his countrymen, to be tried and punished by them for the mildemeanour of which he had been guilty.

In the mean ne, a report was daily gaining ground, that the plans of miniftry embraced fuch a multiplicity of objects, that new demands would thortly be made of means to carry them into execution. Their opponents thought it expedient, for that reafon, to call the attention of the public to the fituation of the national finances, in order that a juft idea might be formed of the conduct of minifters in this effential department. the tenth of March, this fubject was brought into the house of commons, by Mr. Grey: who obferved, that, in whatever circumftances the country might be placed, whether of war or of peace, the stricteft economy was become more difpen

On

fible

fible than ever. France would indubitably aim at the formation of a refpectable marine, and fo would every power that could in any degree maintain its confideration at fea. Our inconteftible fuperiority on the ocean rendered us an object of universal envy and dread; and thefe were cogent motives with all the Europeans to feek for our depreffion but they were no lefs urgent to induce this country to preferve that fuperiority, without which our internal fecurity was evidently precarious; but, had we been fufficiently attentive to the means of preferving it? Had we not lavished, with fcandalous profufion, immenfe fums, for which no adequate fervices had been performed? Seventy-feven millions had, in the courfe of the latt three years, been added to the public debis; to pay the intereft of which, taxes had been laid, amounting to two millions fix hundred thousand pounds. The expences of former wais, however great, did not equal thofe of the prefent; and yet thofe wars were more extenfive and important in their object than the prefent. In the conteft that loft us America minifterial profufion was notorious; the debt contracted did not, however, exceed fixty-three millions, notwithstanding the duration of that fatal quarrel was twice what this had now been; and we had all Europe to contend with. When the prefent war began, the minifter engaged, in a folemn manner, to obviate, by every poflible means, extraordinaries of all kinds; but how had he kept his word? notwithstanding the moft liberal grants that ever minister had experienced, the extraordinaries of the navy amounted to thirteen millions feven

hundred thoufand pounds, while the commerce of this country had fuffered more from the enemy than in any preceding quarrel; the extraordinaries of the army were nine millions. These were unconfcionable expences, as, notwithstanding the advance of price in all articles of public or private demand, they had not rifen to fuch a height as to juftify the difference between the coft of the prefent and of former wars.

The extraordinaries of the nine years war, from the revolution to the peace of Ryfwick, in 1697, were twelve hundred thoufand pounds. Thofe of eleven years war, in the reign of queen Anne, were two millions. They did not together amount to one-half of the extraordinaries of the prefent year : the caufe of this increase of expence was not fo much the difference of price in neceflary articles, many of which continued the fame in this refpect as at that day, as the addition of unneceflary expences. The extraordinarics and the votes of credit, in 1778, 79, and 80, were lefs by three millions two hundred thousand pounds than the prefent: in the ordnance, the extraordinaries arofe to near three millions. Thefe augmentations in the national expences were obvioufly unconftitutional, as they were made without parliamentary fanction. The total of the money thus expended was upwards of thirtyone millions; and together with that voted by the parliament amounted to fixty-fix millions eight hundred thousand pounds. This immenfe fum had been expended in three years of an inglorious and ruinous war. Another unconftitutional proceeding, of a moft alarming nature, was the erection of barracks. These

were

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