HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



19:5 



lV!hr. Fox returned again to tlie 

 -tabject of the American war j be- 

 tween which and the present there 

 wcre«e many striking points of re- 

 semblance, partk:u1ar!y in the fil- 

 ial point, that in neitiier vvDvild mi- 

 nisters listen to any arguments or 

 any reports, other than those that 

 were agreeable to their own preju- 

 dices and passions. 



The loss of America, through 

 4^ur self-delusion, pride, and obsti- 

 ii»cv, should teach us to be more 

 .iiloderate in our views of conquest 

 and subjugation j especially when 

 directed towards a country and peo- 

 ple less liable tliaa any other to 

 'become the slaves of their neigh- 

 tours, and long accustomed to in- 

 spire them all with terror. After 

 protracting the war with America 

 to a ruinous length. Great Britain 

 was glad to treat with that rebel- 

 lious foe. Why not assent to a 

 treaty with a power never depend- 

 ant on our jurisdiction, and whose 

 otfences, however great, have been 

 committed within itself, and are 

 amenable only to the tribunal of 

 opinion ? It had been predicted 

 that to yield to the demands of 



America, would be treason to Great 

 Britain j but necessity forced us to 

 yield. It had been foretold that 

 the cession of independence ^ to 

 America would produce every spe- 

 cies of national calamities, and sink 

 us at once to the lowest degrada- , 

 tion. But were either of these 

 predictions accomplished ? After 

 ac<}uiescii)g in these demands, did 

 we not in a short space emerge out 

 of every difficulty which that con- 

 test had engendered ? We lost in- 

 deed a multitude of subjects, but 

 we acquired a multitude of useful 

 connexions, far more profitable 

 than if retained in subjection by 

 purchase or by terror. In the same 

 manner, by relinquishing an at- 

 tempt beyond the strength of Eu- 

 rope to atchicve, we should fall 

 back into that prosperous course 

 which that enemy, whoie ambition 

 we had taken up arms to repress, 

 would never be able to disturb, 

 while we convinced the world by 

 our conduct, that his imputations , 

 to our disadvantage were unjust, 

 and that our intercourse with other 

 nations was founded on the strictest 

 principles of good faith and equity. 



at farthest. Qd, That Mr. Pitt v,\]l be considered by futurity as a greater mi- 

 jiistcr, if possible, than his father. The chances of war Sir Francis certainly shewed 

 to be all in favour of ihal party who possessed most resources for prolonging the 

 contest. His uiibtaUe lay in assuming that the only resource and nerve of war is 

 money ; that the v;li(ilc power of the French republic, and even its military exist- 

 ence, depended exclusively on the assignats ; and that its momentary conquests 

 .were wholly owing to the profusion of paper-cuiiency. M. de Calonne demon- 

 strated the fallacy of this opinion with great clearness of reasoning, and with an 

 air of gaiety and pkasdiitry. The constant and repeated predictions of Sir Francis 

 d'lvcrnois were uniformly falsified by events. He then took refuge in the obser- 

 vation, that the French republic must have been ruined, as he had predicted, if it 

 had conlincdits exactions to France, and not also laid violent hands on property of 

 •tlier nations ; but that they would, in case of necessity, be guilty of such vio- 

 lence, was a case very likely to happen. It was said, and is somewhere hinted by 

 Sir Francis d'lvcrnois himself, that he was employed to publish his doctrine respect- 

 ing assignats by Mr. Fut j who was naturally very desirous of convincing both 

 himself and others of what he anxiously wished to be true- This disposition in all 

 men, paiticularly the creat, is the irost plentiful source of the greatest errors. 



2 AnojheT' 



