afterwards raife difcontents. I am willing to hope that neither my temper nor my fituation in life will be thought naturally to urge me to promote mifery, difcord, or confufion, or to exult in the fubverfion of order, or the ruin of property. Truft not, however, to my report: reflect, compare, and judge for yourfelves. But under all thefe disheartening circumstances, I could yet entertain a cheerful hope, and undertake again the commiffion with alacrity as well as zeal, if I could fee any effectual steps taken to remove the original cause of the mischief: THEN THERE WOULD BE A HOPE. Till the purity of the conftituent body, and thereby that of the reprefentative, be restored, THERE IS NONE. I look upon reftoring election and reprefentation in fome degree-for I expect no miracles-to their orginal purity, to be that without which all other efforts will be vain and ridiculous."

For the accomplishment of this most important purpose, he concludes with expreffing his earneft with, "that whatever is thought of may be purfued with that true fpirit of firmnefs and moderation which belongs to the eaufe of justice; and above all, that by every means that can be devised, a good understanding and union may be infured amongst respectable men of all ranks and defcriptions, who agree in the main principles of liberty, whatever differences may fubfift in fmaller points, or in matters not calling for immediate difcuffion."

At the meeting of the new parliament, Mr. Cornwall was, for reasons which require no comment, chofen fspeaker of the houfe of commons in the room of fir Fletcher Nor

ton, on a division of 203 voices to 134. The KING, in his opening fpeech, declared his fatisfaction in having. an opportunity, by the recent election, of receiving the most certain information of the difpofition and wishes of his people, to which he was ALWAYS inclined to pay the UTMOST ATTENTION! He acknowledged the arduous fituation of public affairs; but the late fignal fucceffes of his arms in VOL. II.

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Georgia and Carolina would, he trufted, have important confequences, in bringing the war to a happy conclufion." An amendment to the addrefs, confifting in the omiffion of feveral complimentary paragraphs, was moved in the houfe of commons by Mr. Thomas Grenville.

The BLESSINGS of his majefty's reign being recognised in the proposed addrefs, in high-flown terms, as infpiring fentiments of reverence and gratitude, Mr. Fox declared, "that in this part of the addrefs he could not concur, as he was yet to learn what thofe BLESSINGS were. The prefent reign had been one continued tiffue of difgrace, misfortune and calamity. As to the honourable mention made of the late fucceffes in America, and of the gallant officers by whom they had been obtained, he should anfwer, that he would not concur in applauding his own brother, who was now ferving in America, for any fuccefs he might obtain. He never had joined, and as long as he lived he never would join, in a vote of thanks to any of ficer, whofe laurels were gathered in the American war; for he regarded that war as the fountain-head of all the mifchief and mifery under which this country now labored: and he was well convinced that the minifterial profpects of fuccefs, however transiently flattering, would be clofed in disappointment and delufion." The address, as originally moved, was at length carried by a majority of 69 voices, which when compared with the majorities of former times afforded fome faint gleam of hope that better days were gradually, though flowly approaching.

Nothing meriting specific notice paffed in either house previous to the recefs of parliament; but on the 25th of January 1781, two days only after they had re-affembled, lord North delivered to the houfe of commons a meffage from the king, in which his majefty acquainted them, "that, during the recefs of parliament, he had been obliged to direct letters of marque and general reprisal to be iffued against the states general of the united provinces.

For

For the caufes and motives of his conduct he referred to his public manifefto, which, with various other papers, he had ordered to be laid before the houfe." At the clofe of a long speech, justificatory of the late measures of government, lord North moved, "That an address be prefented to his majesty, affuring him that the houfe would, with a firm and determined refolution, fupport the juft and neceffary war against Holland, for the maintenance of the honor of his crown, and the rights and interests of his people." This motion was feconded by lord Lewisham; but it was not carried without a long and animated debate, in which Mr. Thomas Townshend, afterwards created lord Sydney, particularly diftinguished himself. He feverely cenfured "the late long adjournment, which was only calculated to free the executive government from the control and infpection of parliament, who had now only to ratify what the rashness of minifters had most unadvisedly done. In this manner had the house been led into the American war, that fatal fource of all our calamities. In this manner had the French refcript been announced; and afterwards the Spanish refcript; and at length the declaration of war against Holland, our antient and natural ally. Year after year had the minifter acquainted the house with a new enemy, but never had he yet brought them the welcome information of a new friend. had been faid of the provocations we had received from Holland, and the predominance of a French interest in that country-but had Holland received no provocation from us? The infolence of the British memorial presented to the ftates in 1777, contributed more than any thing elfe to the prevalence of the French faction in Holland. It had been ftated, as a ferious ground of offence, that Holland had not complied with the requifition of troops, which, by treaty, she had engaged to furnish. But it was notorious, that, in the event of this compliance, Holland would have been immediately invaded by France; and, in

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conformity with the fame treaties, we must then have fent a much greater aid to the affiftance of the republic. If the Dutch at the prefent period had changed their political fyftem refpecting this country, it was owing to the criminal conduct of an adminiftration, who had precipitated us into a war, whence all our misfortunes had arifen. In confequence of that war, our American commerce was loft; and could it be a matter of furprise that the Dutch, a people who exifted by commerce, fhould be defirous to fecure a share of it? We were abandoned not by the Dutch only, but by all the powers of Europe, who were all equally convinced, that, under the prefent wretched adminiftration of affairs, whoever became the ally of Great Britain would only share in her disgrace and her misfortunes.”

In the house of lords, the duke of Richmond, lord Shelburne, and lord Camden inculcated the fame ideas with great animation and ability. "As to what was called the treaty between Holland and America," lord Camden faid, "it was the mere unauthorised act of Van Berkel, and betrayed neither directly nor indirectly any intention in the states general of an hoftile nature. It did not even appear that they knew any thing of this man or his colleagues; and much less that they had determined to ratify this pretended treaty, or project of a treaty, by which no one was bound, and no one could be injured."

His lordship contrafted the conduct of the prefent minifters to the states general, with that of lord Chatham, who, in the zenith of his victories, had never deviated from the line of refpect and moderation. "He was too wife and magnanimous, whatever might be the causes of complaint, to adopt the ftyle and language of that provoking, arrogant, and indecent memorial, to which, more than to any other circumftance whatever, the fubfequent conduct of the republic might be attributed. His lordship was of opinion, that the manifefto against Holland ought not to receive the fanction of their lordships, till ftronger

evidence

evidence were produced of the neceffity, juftice, and policy of that meafure: and, if no better grounds of hoftility should be the result of a more particular enquiry, parliament would be bound to order immediate reparation and fatisfaction to be given for the injury already fuftained by Holland; and an end would be of course put to the farther profecution of hostilities.”

In both houfes, nevertheless, the addreffes were carried by great majorities; but the diffentient peers recorded their objections in a strong and vigorous proteft. Their lordfhips declare," that they can never believe a rupture fo contrary to the uniform and approved policy of our ableft statesmen can have become neceffary, on our part, without grofs mifmanagement in our councils; and that honest and able minifters might have prevented this, amongst other wretched confequences of the unfortunate American

The ftates general themfelves, in their countermemorial, affirm, "that the plan or project of a treaty with America, which had excited, to such a degree, the displeasure of the king of England, although it depended altogether on the anterior recognition of American inde pendence, had been, however, without hesitation, difayowed by them. But the punishment infifted upon was not within their power, and they could not affent to it, without striking at the root of the fundamental constitution of the state. That, obliged by what is held most facred to defend the rights and privileges of their fubjects, the republic could not forget itfelf fo far as to fubmit to the will of his Britannic majefty, by attempting to overturn those rights and privileges, and exceeding the limits prescribed by the fundamental laws of its government. Those laws required the intervention of the judicial department, and those were the means which the ftates of Holland, to whofe peculiar cognizance it belonged, had refolved to ufe, by requiring on this fubject the advice of the court of justice established in their province. Of this the cheva

lier