Majesty's enemies, from the dominion ufurped over her Councils and actions by her new allies, fhe has been compelled to act in a quarrel, and for interefts, not her own, to take up arms against one of those powers, in whofe caufe fhe had profeffed to feel the ftrongeft intereft; and even to menace with hoftility another, against whom no caufe of complaint is pretended, except its honourable and faithful adherence to its engagements.

Under these circumftances, his Majefty forbears to enumerate the feveral grounds of just complaint which he had occafion, on his part, to prefer to the Court of Maurid, fince the conclufion of the peace between France and Spain, the many and grofs in

ftances of unjust partiality towards his enemies; of undue protection afforded to their fhips; and of injuries committed, and allowed to be committed, on those of his Majefty and his fubjects.

Confident of having acquitted himself to the world of any fhare in originating the prefent war, he finds, in the manifeft and unprovoked aggreffion of the enemy, a tufficient caufe for calling forth the refources of his kingdoms, and the spirit of his fubje&s; and he commits to the Divine Providence the iffue of a contest, which it was to the last moment his earnest endeavour to avoid, and which he now ardently defires to bring to a fpeedy and honourable termination.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

KING'S MESSAGE.

authority of Parliament. He began by ftating, that notwithstanding the importance and magnitude of the fubject, he fhould not occupy much time in the statement he felt it bis duty to detail to

"His Majefty is concerned to acquaint the Houfe of Commons, that notwithftanding his anxious endeavours to preferve peace with the Court of Spain, thefe endeavours have been rendered ineffectual by an abrupt and unprovoked declaration of war on the part of the Catholic King.

"While his Majefty lamented the neceffity of extending the calamities of war, he had the fatisfaction to reflect, that nothing had been omitted on his part (confiftently with the dignity of his crown, and the fecurity of his dominions) to continue the bleffings of peace with his Catholic Majefty! and he hoped that the protection of Divine Providence, the wisdom of Parliament, and the refources of the country will enable him to repel this unprovoked aggreffion." Mr Dundas then moved, that his Majefty's moft gracious communication be taken into confideration to-morrow.The meffage was accordingly ordered to be taken into confideration to-morrow. Mr Secretary Dundas next prefented the Spanish Declaration of War against this country.

CENSURE OF THE MINISTER. 14. Mr Fox rofe to make his promifed, motion relative to the fums tranfmitted to the Emperor of Germany, without the

guments had been anticipated by the two difcuffions that had already taken place. (p. 851) Valuing, as he did, the British conftitution, he thould affert, rather than argue. With respect to the grounds, they were no other than these : That this is a limited, and not an arbitrary monarchy; and that it was the peculiar province of the Houfe to judge of the expences of the State, in granting jums to his Majefty for Special purposes. This was the principle he meant to affert. He next anticipated the defence which would be made, and the stress that would be laid on Votes of Credit and Extraordinaries; but he afferted that these expedients were not ftrictly conftitutional, and ought to be reduced to the fmalleft poffible compafs. In fupport of this principle, he read several extracts from “The Precedents of Parliament," the work of the learned and ingenious gentleman at the table (Mr Hatfell.) In this publication, Votes of Credit are reprefented as a mifchievous exception from the conftitu-. tion, only to be juftified by "fatal neceffity." Having made thefe general remarks, Mr Fox confidered the subject in two points of view-1st, "Whether the expence was fit at all to have been incurred?" and 2d, "Admitting the expence to have been fitly and wifely incurred, whether it ought to have been applied without the previous confent of 6 M 2

Par

Parliament?" The first queftion, he said, he should leave entirely out of the confideration of this day, and confine his obfervations to the fecond of these queftions. The first sum to which he called. the attention of the Houfe, was-that tranfmitted for the fervice of the army under the Prince of Conde. When we had openly raised and fupported emigrant corps, why not mention the fpecific appropriation? It appeared, that from September 1795, to February following, money to the extent of 200,000l. had been tranfmitted. Out of the Vote of Credit 1795? No fuch thing; it was defrayed out of the Vote of Credit for 1796. Examine, he said, this Vote of Credit, and it will appear that it is for fervices profpectively for defraying "fuch fums as may hereafter be required, and not provided for by Parliament." He would admit, for the fake of argument, the neceffity of money to fave Germany during the recefs. Parliament was called at the ufual time, and even during its fitting, the flightest intimation of the neceffity was not communicated; but ministers, in violation of their duty, and in contravention of law, did tranfmit money to the Emperor. This could only be done under the brilliant fuccefs of the Austrian arms, with a view to eftablish a precedent, which, if paffed in fi. lence, would furnish a precedent for fetting afide the authority of Parliament, and that principle of the conftitution which makes the Houfe of Commons the fole judges of the expediency and diftribution of fupplies; or the minifter thought himself a better judge of propriety and expediency than the Houfe. Without any difparagement to the abilities of the right hon. gentleman, he would affirm his incompetency to judge; and he asked the Houfe, whether they would fuffer a minifter to fay he is a better judge of the prerogative of the Crown, and the privileges of Parliament, than the House itself? The next queftion he afked was, Whether the expence was to be confidered from the iffue of the money, or the date of the bills? he fhould prefume the date of the bills, as being the more favourable mode. The bill for the first fum (77,000l.) bore date the 20th of May. Was it not, he asked, fair to infer, that the bill which was drawn on the 20th must have been known to the parties on the preceding day, the very day on which Parliament was prorogued.

Except the above fum, it appeared that the whole (above 120,000l.) had been transmitting during the fitting of Parliament. The next topic on which the right hon. gentleman animadverted, was the loan to the Emperor of 4,600,000l. The advocates for that loan expatiated on the honour and punctuality of the Houfe of Auftria, and it now turned out that we have finee lent the Court of Vienna a fum exceeding three times the intereft. With refpect to the prefent attack upon the conftitution, he met it more boldly than any other, for it was practised without the reprobation of the Houfe; the conftitution might be confidered as a dead letter. He now remarked upon the gigantic ftrides which the Crown was making on the privileges of that Houfe, and of the liberties of the people, in confequence of the vast increase of revenue; the war establishment; the creation of a new species of treafon; the cruel punishments inflicted for offences not of an aggravated nature; the enormous military establishments; and, in addition to these engines of power, if the Executive Government can appropriate the public money, where does there remain the fmalleft fafeguard for preferving the conftitution? With refpect to the Vote of Credit, he faid he had fhewn that it had a profpective operation; but if it had not, the money had not been applied to the specific purpofe. If fuch a defence was fet up, minifters were equally culpable, and incur an aggravation of the offence. Some gentlemen, Mr Fox faid, might be of opinion, that he beft confulted the prefervation of the conftitution, by moving for an act of indemnity. He, for one, would not fupport any propofition to that effect. The only courfe which the House could take was, to declare their fentiments plainly and decidedly on the tranfaction. Mr Fox then moved a refolution to the following effect, that "his Majefty's minifters having transmitted various fums of money to his Imperial Majefty and the Prince of Conde, with out the confent of Parliament, have act. ed contrary to their duty, and in violation of the conftitutional privileges of this House."

Mr Alderman Combe feconded the motion, in a fpeech of fome length. To the repeated drains of specie to the Continent, he said, were to be ascribed the great mercantile embarrassments in the

army, and their rapid purfuit of the ene my, demonftrated the utility of the meafare. Who would put nine or even twelve hundred thousand pounds in competition with thele fuccefles, produced by British money. Whatever this country had tranbaitted it was only lent, but even at had been given to a much larger amount, the fervice has amply repaid us. There was not, he believed, an individual in the conatry who did not feel a fympathy in the magnanimity of the Court of Vienna; where was the man to be found who would not exult in furnishing the finews of war, which Auftria had wielded with fo much honour to herfelf, and interest to an admiring world? The Right Hon. Gentleman next explained the circumftances that induced him to abandon the idea of a public Loan, and to adopt extraordinaries, which were (the publicity attending the former mode) the confequent depreciation of credit at home, and the mischievous effects of thefe tranfactions being known to the enemy. With refpect to "the violation of the privileges of Parliament, and the tranfaction being done under the auspices of the Auftrian fucceffes," for the creation of a precedent he pofitively denied, and declared that the precedent was not attempted to be established under any fuch phantoms of delufive glory, but from à zeal for the public fervice and the good of the country; a zeal which neither hope nor fear fhould induce him ever to fupprefs. Had the country, in a ftate of defpondency, yielded to the preffure of calamity, the enemy would have been infpired with confidence, and conquered our ally to whom we were linked by honour and policy. By continuing our fuccours, the brave Auftrians, who had endured adverfity, were induced to continue their efforts, and eventually retrieved profperity. After begging of the Houfe to view the tranfaction in the aggregate, and not according to dates, or issues, and affirming that it was only following up the pledge of the Houfe to give affiftance according to exigencies, he quoted a variety of cafes to prove, that money had been repeatedly given for the affiftance of foreign powers, in Votes of Credit and Extraordinaries. The first of importance to his point, Mr Pitt mentioned, was about the beginning of the reign of King William, in the year 1701, when a mo

Mr Pitt faid, as he confidered himself as put upon his defence by the right hon. gentleman oppofite, he trufted that the Houfe would fufpend their opinion of the transactions imputed to him, un til they heard what he had to offer in juftification, or at least in extenuation of his conduct. The facts on which he meant to ground that defence were, the practice of his predeceffors, and the precedents that bore an analogy to the prefent cafe. On the relevancy and validi. ty of these practices and precedents, it was for the House, and not for him to decide. After this preface, he proceeded to reply diftinctly to the heads of the charge contained in the opening fpeech. It was, he said, an acknowledged principle, that all grants fhould proceed from the Commons, and that all fums are under their controul; but the public fervice could not be performed in point of practice, if extraordinaries for unforefeen services were not to be admitted. From the days of King William, through a fucceffion of reigns, and under various administrations, the uniform practice had been fanctioned and confirmed; to arraign the practice, was to traduce the conduct of every adminiftration fince our conftitution attained its matured ftate. A vote of credit, he contended, was applicable to any fervice the exigency of affairs may require. The money to appropriated was of an affignable nature, and came within the spirit and letter of the vote of credit. He was aware that refponfibility did exist for the exercife of a legal difcretion given to the Executive Government, subject to the controul of Parliament. The Houfe would not forget the circumftances that led to the diftribution being neceffary; and if he had departed from the principles laid down, and exercised an intemperate difcretion, the deviation from the establifh ed practice was not, he declared, the effect of defign, but an error of judgment. To establish the utility and expediency of the diftribution, he reverted to the fituation of the hoftile armies in July laft. The rapid progrefs of the French into the heart of Germany; and the unfortunate, though heroic retreat of the Auftrian army, marked the expediency. The turn was inftantaneously given to the tide of affairs: the aftonifhing victories atchieved by that gallant

Mr Thornton ftated, he had at firft thought a bill of indemnity neceffary for the Minister; but from the precedents quoted by him, was now convinced that it was not fo.

Alderman Lushington faid, that the Common Hall, which had been called in the morning upon the subject now in debate, did not contain a fixth part of the Livery; and the fense of a Common Hall, it was well known, was generally contradicted by any other mode of taking the opinion of the city. He had declared, that he would not promife his verdict before he had heard the defence of the accused; and he now thought the minifter juftified by the terms of the vote of credit.

Mr Alderman Curtis expreffed the fame opinion with respect to the conduct of the minifter.

Mr Sheridan faid the real point to be decided lay in a very narrow compafsHad they proved the fact charged, and had they rightly ftated the principle relative to it? He was surprised to hear the precedents treated as rules which could only be exceptions, and, if true to the extent they were ftated, could not overcome the Conftitution. But they were not true, even to that extent. The money fent to the Emperor in 1706, amounted only to 47,000l. and that was paid to a General commanding an united army of British and Germans; the promise to give which was not made while Parliament was fitting. The demand from Savoy, on which another of the pretended precedents was founded, was not made while Parliament was fitting; and though Turin was then actually befieged, Mr Secretary Harley had replied that it was "hardly practicable" to give 50,000l. confitently with the Constitution of England; nor did the Queen fend it without ftipulating to deduct it from a fubfidy already ftipulated by Parliament; fo that, in fact, no money was granted by Parliament. The money applied in 1742 was during the vacation of Parliament; and upon that occafion, a divifion took place in the Houfe of 145 to 259. Extreme neceflity was the plea for that measure;

tionally granted which they chose to feize illegally. The precedent of 1787, when money was iffued for Holland, was alfo during the vacation of Parliament, and the neceffity was then preffing; that fum was alfo accounted for as fecret fervice money, upon the oath of the secretary of state. The minister took the filence of oppofition on the budget night for an argument in his behalf, as if they were bound to the law of "Hue and Cry," like perfons who, having been robbed, intended to bring actions against the county. Not one of all hia boasted precedents was of any value. The vote of credit was asked for future, not for paft expences; and the account of 341,000l. paid to the Paymaster-General, was virtually a falfe one; for this money appeared as if paid to British, inftead of foreign troops. Without look ing coarfely at the direct means of corruption, what respect was to be had for that minifter, under which juries were reviled; courts of juftice declared by the firft penfioner of the crown to be fchools for treafon; the military feparated from their fellow fubjects; the mouths of the people ftopped, and at laft, the guardianship of the public purfe taken from the House of Commons? If the Houfe did not check this career, he should confider them as not only ac complices in this crime, but partakers in the effect of it.

Sir WV. Pulteney would not long detain the Houfe from their decifion. It was agreed on all hands, that the right of granting money exitted only in Parliament, while the doubt as to the right of diftribution was fuftained by the two exceptions to their general care-the vote of credit, and the extraordinaries. Such was the jealoufy of the House as to money affairs, that formerly, when the Lords altered any pecuniary bill, it was the cuftom literally to kick it out of the Houfe: we were now grown more polite, and only threw it afide. The Houfe of Lords, to be fure, had no places to give away; but why would we endure that from minifters which we would not from the Upper Houfe? He really believed, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not aware, the other night, of the precedents which he had quoted for his defence, but which turned out to be nothing at all. Not one of them

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