tures would be destroyed, or at least transplanted to France. What was there in the treaty to compensate for such an essential loss to the commerce of the kingdom? He knew of none. Much had been said with regard to its reciprocity; but with all his examination of it he could not find one article in which any trace of it existed. Proceeding thus, through several articles of our commerce, he adverted to our situation with Portugal, with respect to the present treaty. As to the idea of our renewing or preserving the METHUEN treaty, he had not the leaft expectation. We had not preserved to ourselves the only chance which could give us any pretence to afk it with confidence. Portugal knew that we had. formed a treaty which precluded us from every possibility of making any advantage of any proposal we might offer, and she might think proper to reject. She would, therefore, not be inclined to give us a benefit for a bonus we had not in our power to bestow; for notwithstanding we had a reserve to reduce her wines one third below those of France, yet as we had no means of giving, or rather felling, this advantage to any other, should she refuse it, she could have no reason to accept a proposition tending so much to her disadvantage. What gave a pretence to treaty was, to have it in your power to offer to one, what, if rejected, you might with advantage offer to another. But this you could not expect in the present instance of Portugal wines, and therefore he did not perceive on what species of confidence we could expect the METHUEN treaty to be continued, what was to compensate for the advantage which we lost? 150,000 lb. of salt fish we annually sent to that country. Where could we find a market for this invaluable article of our commerce? If any where, we should expect to have it in France. For as we lost a benefit in consequence of giving them an advantage,

vantage, we certainly had a right to expect from them a compensation. But could we expect this? No! They had a fishery of their own. They, therefore, would not take ours. Where then would the right honorable gentleman find the reciprocity in this particular? None could be found. It was consequently evident, that here a most material sacrifice was offered to the pretences of France. We lost not only this sale of our produce, as it might be called, but we lost this proportionate opportunity of reaping those advantages from our fisheries, which rendered them the most immediate and absolute nurseries of our seamen.

"The right honorable gentleman had made some extraordinary observations concerning the importation of wines into this country, in eonfequence of the treaty. He did not conceive that any particular advantage could ever be derived from this concession, if it might be fo called. Wines were certainly a luxury, and a most agreeable species of luxury, with which we could not dispense. But surely, their importation on one third less duty than before, would not prove the least advantageous to the country from any pretended equivalent that might be offered us.

none.

"With respect to the equivalent which we were to have for the reduction of the duties on French wines, so as to admit them more freely into our ports, what article had we the privilege of exporting into France? He knew of It appeared to him, therefore, an advantage given to France without the least sign of an equivalent. We were admitting French wines into our ports, to the exclusion of those of Portugal, reducing our duties on both, and forfeiting all those advantages which we formerly enjoyed by the METHUEN treaty. Such was the policy and principle of the leading feature of this treaty.

The right honorable gentleman had used arguments not less extraordinary in favour of establishing peace between this country and France. He had afked in his zeal and sanguinary wishes for the event, were not the two countries nearly situated-were they not nearly connected in their mutual intercourse-were they not pursuing the same means of increasing their prosperity-and was not this the only means of uniting a people in the bonds of peace, amity, and prosperity. Such arguments might be used with regard to Spain and Portugal. Portugal might say, Am I not nearly adjoining to Spain? Do we not speak almost the same language? Are we not of the same religion? Are we not similar in manners? And should I not seek rather alliance and protection from a neighbour so near me, and so competent to afford protection from insulting and invading neighbours? These questions are certainly as applicable to Spain and Portugal, as they are to France and England. And yet the answer which would naturally be given to Portugal, as well as Great Britain, was, that vicinity of situation, instead of being the means to connect, is what should excite your fear and jealousy. Portugal being so near to such a superior power as Spain, is certainly in danger of her ambition. It is therefore, that she rather seeks foreign connections and alliances, than union with a country to which she might be sacrificed, had she not such a friend as Great Britain to call to her assistance. This is the reason that Portugal cannot enter into any treaty with Spain with safety, no more than Great Britain can possibly enter into a commercial treaty with France. Both transactions are equally dangerous to us and Portugal; for each of our relative situations is such, as to render this policy extremely hazardous, not only to the prosperity,

but

but to the existence of each country as a nation in the scale of European politics.

As to the stipulation of reducing Portugal wines one third below the French wines, while the eleventh article of the treaty subsisted, he could not conceive that this could have the least effect to preserve the METHUEN treaty unbroken. For, by the eleventh article, it was agreed, that all commodities imported from either na tion into the other should be on terms of the most favoured nations, Portugal excepted. Thus, if we reduced the Spanish wines, we should be obliged also, by the French treaty, to reduce to the same degree the French wines, unless they were already as low as the duties on Portugal wines. Thus should we be obliged to reduce the duties on both the French and Portugal wines, to the great diminution of our revenue, without the least probability of having any pretence to an equivalent."

In the course of his speech, he made several observations on other parts of the produce, commerce, and manufactures of both France and Spain. When he came particularly to enumerate the benefits given in this treaty to France, he could not suppress the strong assertion, that the fame advantages were as due to Ireland, as to a rival. He therefore perfectly agreed with what his honorable friend, (Mr. SHERIDAN) had remarked; that it was certainly necessary to form an act to grant them those privileges. The only difficulty, which he perceived in the prosecution of this subject, was the opposition made to the countervailing duties on the Irish propositions. If this could be dispensed with, let the manufacturers come to the bar, and acknowledge that they had been mistaken in the evidence which they had formerly given on the fubject. If fuch were the alteration of circumstances

from

from this treaty, as to give just cause for such a variation of sentiment, he saw no reason for the manufacturers not coming to the bar, and correcting what they had misconceived. Then the Irish might participate in those advantages, to which they had certainly as great 'a right as the French, on the same conditional countervailing duties.

Mr. Fox mentioned the construction which Mr. PITT put upon some of the articles, and particularly the clause relative to ships and vessels driven by stress of weather upon the respective coasts of the two contracting powers; asking how the honourable gentleman could expect the manufacturers of the chamber of commerce to understand the treaty, if they were to have words so strangely translated, as to hear "ships driven by the stress of weather upon a coast, termed shipwrecked ?" He also spoke of the construction which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had given to the eleventh article on Friday evening in respect to Spanish wines, and declared that it was a construction by no means obvious or warranted by the wording of the article. Mr. Fox maintained that the treaty was a tempting bait, which none but gudgeons the most simple would have bitten at. He concluded with moving, "that the chairman do leave the chair, report progress, and ask leave to sit again."

The committee divided on this motion, ayes 118noes 152.-The main question on Mr. PITT's motion was then put, and carried by a majority of 258 against

118.

VOL. II.

CHAP.