198] 
of discontent : at home itself the peo- 
ple were exasperated at their suffer- 
ings, and the less disposed to bear 
them, that they did not clearly com- 
prehend why they should. The ef- 
feéts of the war were of a truly 
alarming nature: it not only spread 
calamity through the land, but di. 
verted a Jarge portion of the people 
from © peaceable ‘occupations, to 
which they never returned with 
alacrity after they had been used to 
a military life, and contracted those 
habits of idleness and dissipation al- 
ways attending it. Another effect 
was, that the Americans were appre- 
hensive, lest, if successful in our at- 
tempts against the French islands, 
we might narrow their commerce in 
those parts : nor were they disposed 
to bear with patience the haughty 
and contemptuous language we be- 
stowed on republican principles and 
governments. The longer the war 
lasted, the stri€ter would be the 
union of the French, and the more 
fervent their resolution to maintain 
their domestic independence, with 
which their present form of govern- 
ment was daily becoming so inti- 
mately connected. ‘The “rulers in 
that country, sensible of the general 
inclination to peace, were very far 
from ayerse to it themselves: the diffi- 
culties perpetually arising in pro- 
viding the means to continue’ the 
war, and their anxiety not to run 
counter to the reasonable wishes of 
the majority, were motives that must 
strongly influence them to close 
with equitable offers. All’ these 
were objects that called for the most 
serious attention on our part. He 
had proposed them in the clearest 
point of view they appeared to him, 
and ‘to those who coincided with 
his sentiments. : 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1795. 
This speech occasioned a warm 
reply from Mr. Windham, who 
contended, that it was nugatory to 
talk of the willingness of the French 
government to listen to oyertyres 
from this country, after the explicit 
manner in which they had. deter- 
mined to reduce its power and in. 
fluence throughout Europe. France 
was at the present hour ina state of 
Universal agitation; jealousies and 
mistrusts Gf each other distracted its 
rulers, and irritation at their con- 
duct pervaded the mass of the peo- 
ple, who had never been so prone 
to shake off the usurpations of their 
governors, as they appeared of late, 
Motions to treat for peace were 
totally unseasonable for those rea< 
sons: they tended to dishearten the 
public from the prosecution of a 
war which promised to terminate so 
favourably to the cause of this coun- 
try and its allies: they promoted 
disaffection, and placed government 
in an odious light. He would, 
therefore, oppose the present mo- 
tion, by moving the order of the 
day. 
Herein he was seconded by sir 
B. Hammet; but vigorously op- 
posed by Mr.:Fox, who amidst a 
variety of other allegatiors, par- 
ticularized the satisfa€tion expressed 
by the subjeéts of those powers that 
had made peace with France. He © 
instanced the grand duke of Tus- 
cany, who had rendered himself 
highly popular by abandoning the 
coalition ; which was an. object of 
hatred to the commonalty of all 
Europe. The constitution which 
the coalition held out to the French, 
as the price of peace, was precisely 
that which they had proscribed. 
This alone was sufficient to excite 
their aversion to it : nospirited peo- 
b “ple 
