upon us as the aggreffors, and confequently would think themfelves obliged to grant the ftipulated fuccours to France. This is a way of thinking which the French court will certainly endeavour to lead their allies into; and if we should order fuch a bill as this to be brought in, that court will as certainly make it a pretence for faying, that we have treated them in fuch an infolent manner, as renders it impoffible for them to treat any longer with us. Whether fuch a pretence may have any weight with thofe courts that are in alliance with France, is a queftion which none but his Majefty can pretend to judge of; but every one mult fuppofe, that it is a pre tence which the French court will make ufe of: and, in my opinion, they have been waiting all this time, in expectation that, by fome ftep in our conduct, we would furnish them with some such pretence as this.

as it neceffarily muft; they would look tleman who knows any thing of the tem per and difpofition of the people of that kingdom. Some of their thoughtless young quality may perhaps be fond of a war with this nation; but it is well known, that the body of their people in general are extremely averse to any fuch war. Among them it is a common, and a true obfervation, that all their poffef fions in Canada neither are, nor can ever be made worth the expence of one year's war with England; and if a computation is to be made, either from the naval ftrength of the two nations, or from their respective strength upon the continent of America, the chance of lofing what they have there, is vaftly fuperior to the chance they have of gaining any thing from us in that part of the world. These confiderations, Sir, make every thinking man in France, who has no felfish view to ferve, averfe to a war with this nation; and if their minifters, for fome particular reasons of their own, are refolved to come to an open rupture with us, rather than give us fatisfaction, they know that they must wait till we have done fomething to raise the indig nation of the people: for, even in the moft abfolute monarchies, fome regard must be had to the humour of the peo ple; becaufe their armies must always, in fome degree, partake of that humour s and are very apt to mutiny, or at least they never fight with spirit, when they are engaged in a war which they think imprudent or unjuft. Which maxim was fo well understood by the minifters of France in the days of Lewis XIV. that when the people of France were reduced to the utmost distress, and crying out for a peace upon any terms, the minifters offered fuch terms to the allies as they themfelves had no mind to fubmit to, and offered them only because they expected their being rejected by the allies; as they accordingly were: whereupon the minifters got their fovereign to write a moft moving and artful letter to the governors of the provinces, fetting forth the terms he had offered for obtaining a peace, the haughtiness with which they were rejected, and the infolence of the terms propofed by the allies; copies of

It is this expectation, Sir, and not what the Hon. Gentleman who spoke laft was pleased to infinuate, that has made the court of France hitherto bear, with a Stoical patience, as fome unthinking people amongst ourselves are pleafed to call it, all the indignities we have lately put upon them. They are too well acquainted both with their own ftrength, and the ftrength of this nation, not to be fenfible, that, by engaging fingle and a lone in a naval war against us, they muft run a great risk of having both their trade and plantations quite ruined in a few years; and that after they have loft their trade and plantations, it would be impoffible for them to render themselves equal to us at fea; because if they had a fufficient number of fhips of war, they could then no where find a fufficient number of seamen; as moft of the feamen they now have, would, in a few years, be either killed, gone into foreign fervice, or prifoners in fome part of the British dominions; and many of them, perhaps, become Proteftants, and ferving on board our navy.

Another realon, Sir, for the late patience of the French court with refpect to us, muit appear evident to every gen

which letter were induftriously difperfed now made to us. And the fame effect among the people of every province; would as certainly have been produced, and thereby fuch an indignant spirit was had we declared war against France, or raised among the people, as enabled the begun with a fudden and vigorous atcourt to continue the war, till a change tack upon any of the French poffeffions in the adminiftration, and the death of in America, before convincing the fethe Emperor Jofeph, which followed veral courts of Europe, as well as the foon after, furnished them with an op- people of France, that we were ready portunity for obtaining better terms of and willing to accept of any reasonable peace than the most fanguine French- terms of accommodation. It would have man could have formed any hopes of. united at least all the allies of France, This fhews, Sir, that the court of if not all Europe against us: for in that France, notwithstanding the abfolute cafe, the preservation of a balance of power of their fovereign, find it neceffary power at fea, might have had the fame to ftudy the temper and difpofition of influence, and the fame effect against their people; and it is their attention to this nation, as the preservation of a bathis that has hitherto delayed their re- lance of power at land had against fenting, in a hoftile manner, our feizing France, foon after the beginning of this their trading fhips as well as their fhips century; which is all I fhall fay, and of war. The people of France do not as much as I have occafion to fay, in know the importance of the difputes be- juftification of our late conduct, as it is tween France and us in America. They not at prefent the subject of debate. know that Canada has as yet been of very little advantage to them, and therefore they are unwilling to enter into a war with us on account of those difputes. This makes them with that their court would adjust all thofe difputes in an amicable manner; and in that cafe they expect, that all the ships we have taken will be restored: but our seeming to take any step for appropriating thofe fhips to the captors, 'will put an end to that expectation, and raife among them a general indignation, which will enable their minifters to reject any terms of accommodation we can propofe, and the confequence of this must be an open war. I therefore concur in opinion, Sir, with the Hon. Gentleman who spoke laft, that the late conduct of the court of France is rather to be called prudence than patience. They have political and wife reafons for holding fuch a conduct. But those reafons I have fhewn to be very different from what the Hon. Gentleman was pleafed to fuggeft. They are waiting till we take fome fuch step as may raife a general refentment among their own people, and give their allies good reafon to look upon us as the aggreffors in the war; both of which would, in my opinion, be the effect of our agreeing to the motion VOL. XIX.

I fhall therefore conclude, Sir, with this obfervation, that if the court of France had the direction of this house, they could not propofe a step more agreeable to their scheme of politics, or that could tend more effectually towards enabling them to begin a war againft this nation with a high probability of fuccefs, than our ordering fuch a bill as is now propofed, to be brought in and after having faid this, I hope no gentleman will expect that I fhould give my affent to the motion.

The Speech of Sp. Liguftinus, who spoke

next.

Mr Prefident,

W1

Ith refpect to the motion now under our confideration, I must confefs I have met with a double disappointment. For when I heard the intended contents of the bill opened by the Noble Lord who made the motion, and the Hon. Gentleman who feconded his motion, and at the fame time confidered the circumstances we are in at prefent, I little expected that any oppofition would have been made to the motion for leave to bring in fuch a bill, whatever might have been made to the bill itfelf after being brought in, and read a fecond or third time. I recolL

lected,

much the fame fort of bill was moved for in this houfe, by the Noble Lord's father; and though our circumftances with regard to Spain had not then near fuch a warlike afpect as our circumftances now have with regard to France, our then minifter had too much fenfe to oppofe the bill's being brought in. He even allowed it to go the length of being ingroffed; but as he had then always a dead majority at his beck, he had it thrown out upon the third reading; and as we now feem to copy that minifter in every step of his conduct, I expected that we would likewife have copied him in this.

lected, that, in the feffion of 1737-8, happens in the village; and therefore, as foon as it begins to ring, the people all affemble, and run to affift in extinguishing the fire, and removing the people's goods. A prefs-gang having been informed of the ufe made of this bell, they came into the village, and began to ring the bell; whereupon the people all affembled as ufual, and three or four of them that were known to be seamen, were preffed. The ftratagem was in itfelf innocent enough; but it was attended with a confequence that was fatal to one family, and might have been fatal to the whole village: for a fire foon after happening, the bell was as usual rung; but the people, instead of affembling, fhut them felves up in their houfes; and the family where the fire began, for want of affiftance in time, had not only their house, but most of their goods destroyed.

The other difappointment I have met with. Sir, is with regard to the arguments made ufe of against the motion. If any oppofition fhould appear, I expected that the oppofers would endeavour to fhew, that preffing was no way inconvenient, or that the bill propofed would not in the leaft remedy any of the inconveniencies which our feamen are thereby expofed to. Some faint attempts have indeed been made, to palliate the inconvenience of preffing; but every one knows, that the exercife of that power is always attended with numberless irregularities, and often with acts of cruel oppreffion. No man can look into a tender, where preffed men are confined, without pitying those who have the misfortune of being fhut up in fuch noifome dungeons; and it is certain, that many of them die there, or are afterwards deftroyed, by the diseases there contracted. Befides the violences often committed by our prefs-gangs themselves, do not we know, that often, and in many places, a gang of loofe fellows affaciate themfelves together, affume the character of a prefs-gang, and raife contributions upon every paffenger, under pretence of preffing him into the fea-fervice? I myself know of a very new fort of irregularity, that was, this laft fummer, committed by a prefsgang, at a village in the weft of Eng. land. In that village they have one certain bell, which is called the fire-bell, because it is never rung but when a fire

* {

In short, Sir, our method of preffing feamen into the government's fervice, is always attended with fo many irregularities, and is, in its own nature, fo oppreflive upon that fort of men, whom of all others we ought to take the most tender care of, that I am furprised to find a bill oppofed, which fo evidently tends to encourage feamen to enter voluntarily into the King's fervice. For, by a bare infpection of the law now fubfifting, we muft fee, that no feaman can have the leaft pretence to a fhare of any prize taken before a declaration of war, even though fuch prize should be condemned and fold, either as foon as taken, or after the war has been de clared. That law can therefore give no encouragement to enter into the King's fervice till after a declaration of war. And how can any man, much lefs any feaman, know that war will ever be declared for his Majefty may carry on all forts of hoftilities as long as he pleafes, without ever declaring war; and may even order the prizes to be condemned and fold, as foon as brought in, without any declaration of war. Nay, I am furprifed, that all the trading fhips already taken, were not condemned and fold as foon, or very foon after they were brought into any, British

port:

71 port : : for fuppofing they were taken the court of France, more than our haby way of reprifal, it is the conftant ving feized them. Can any one be fo practice of all nations, to have the fhip wrong-headed as to imagine, that a and cargo fo taken condemned, and man's felling my property is a greater fold to the highest bidder, as foon as infult upon me than his taking it by brought into port; which practice is violence from me? It is the violence founded upon a moft folid reafon, be- that is the infult: the fale is only a dacaufe many forts of merchandifes are mage; which I am to compel him to fpoiled by keeping, and every fort of make good, if I can; or, by agreemerchandise fuffers in its value, if not ment, allow him to retain the whole or carried in due time to its proper market. a part of what he fold it for, by way of And this reason we shall find fully con- compenfation for fome damage I had firmed by the effect, of our not having before done to him, after having forfollowed this practice, with regard to given the infult which by the violence the fhips we have lately taken: for as he put upon me. But if he had allowed the cargoes of many of them confift in what he thus took, by violence, to pefith, they will, in a few months, be fo rifh, our agreement would become much fpoiled, as to be good for nothing; and more difficult; becaufe he could then the cargoes of the reft will fuffer great- have nothing to retain by way of comly in their value, by not having been penfation, and I muft forgive the lofs, carried, in due time, to their proper as well as the infult I fuffered by his vimarket. olence. Thus, if all the fhips and cargoes we have taken had been fold to the highest bidder as foon as brought in, we fhould have had fomething to retain by way of compenfation for the expence we have been put to by the French incroachments; and if there had been any furplus, we fhould have had fomething to reftore towards that indemnification which the people of France expect for the lofs they have fuffered. But if we allow all thofe fhips and cargoes to perish in our hands, we shall have nothing to retain by way of compenfation; and the French, if they come to an agreement with us, muft forgive the lofs as well as the infult they have fuffered by our feizing their fhips. Confequently I must conclude, that our not having condemned and fold those ships as foon as brought in, tends rather towards making a war unavoidable, than towards facilitating any accommodation; and if a war fhould enfue, it will furnish a better pretence to every court in Europe for charging us with having been the authors of the war.

To pretend, Sir, that these ships have not been difpofed of, because they are to be restored upon the French court's agreeing to a reafonable accommodation, is a ridiculous pretence; becaufe to expect, that either the court or people of France will be fatisfied with a reftitution of the fhips themselves with their cargoes, is a ridiculous expectation. The people, at least the trading people of France, may perhaps be averfe to a war; but I am fure, that they neither expect nor defire a reftitution of the fhips them felves with their cargoes. They defire to have an indemnification, equal to the value or price which the fhips and cargoes might have been fold for at the time they were taken by us; and they expect that their court will procure them this indemnification from us, or make it good to them in fome other way: therefore our not difpofing of every fhip and cargo as foon as brought in, will only add to the difficulty of our coming to any amicable fettlement of the differ ence between the two nations.

It is equally ridiculous, Sir, to fuppofe, that our having condemned and fold thefe fhips and cargoes by way of reprifal, as foon as brought in, would have raised the indignation of the people, or hurt or engaged the honour of