116] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
in saying, that I should be inclined 
to find less fault with terms that 
may be faulty on this side of made- 
ration, than faulty from a contrary 
principle, and from too great haugh- 
tiness, With regard to the Austrian 
victories, which make a topic of 
animated exultation in his majesty’s 
speech, it may certainly be right to 
rejoice in the gallantry they have 
displayed, and the laurels they have 
recently acquired. No man ad- 
mires their great military exertions 
more than I do; but let it be re- 
collected, that we are called upon 
to rejoice on their having recovered 
only a part of what was lost in this 
campaign, and it is not because 
they have reaped successes, calcu~ 
tated to obtain what ministers 
themselves originally stated the ob- 
ject of the war to be, but because 
they have saved the house of Aus- 
tria from the utter destruction with 
which it ‘was threatened. While we 
rejoice, I presume we can hardly 
. flatter onrselves that the Austrians 
are likely t6 recover all that they 
have lost in the present campaign, 
much less what they have lost in all 
the campaigns that are past ; and 
even this, sir, must furnish a new sub- 
ject for reflection, which the atchieve- 
ments of our navy still farther strive 
to corroborate. The atchievements 
of that navy have been brilliant and 
glorious : at no former period have 
they displayed ‘greater gallantry, 
and never, perhaps, equal skill. No 
eulogiums can be too high for their 
merits. Yet, after all this, the cha- 
racter of the peace which we are de- 
sirous to obtain, and the utmost we 
can expect, is, that it shall be solid 
and of permanent duration. This, 
I believe, is as high a character as 
it is likely to deserve. Ther, what 
must be the sort of conflict in which 
we are engaged; in which, after a 
four years successful exertion of all 
the skill, aud all the valour of ouy 
navy, in which they have invariably 
conquered and carried the flag of 
Englandtriumphant to every quarter 
of the world; all our efforts cannot 
produce to us a peace either brillis 
ant or glorious, but we must content 
ourselyes with hoping for a peace 
that may be sold and petmanent ? 
Must we not own that there was 
something in the cause in which we 
are engaged radically defective, that 
palsies our efforts, and disappoints 
our strength? that there is something 
which demands from the ¢ommon 
sense and the prudence of English- 
men, a strict and a rigorous investi- 
gation, that wemay discover what this 
something is, not merely to retrieve 
the present calamity, but guard our 
offspring against the errorin future ? 
A day will come for such a question $ 
and I give my assent to the present 
address, without moving any amend- 
ment upon the points of which T do 
not cordially approve, because, when 
the day of such a discussion does 
come, | shall have an opportunity 
tomake the observations that [think 
it important for the house to entere 
tain upon those peintss No great 
distance of time shail elapse before 
1 shall think it my duty to bring 
this matter before you; since I think 
it of the most essential importance to 
the well-being of the country, and 
to the true support and dignity of 
his majesty’s crown, that an inquiry 
into all the causes which ‘had 
brought the nation into the present 
condition, and produced the calami- 
ties of the present war, should be 
instituted, forthe purposeof advising 
his majesty to make a fundamental 
change in the system upon which 
we have lately acted, both with 
| "regard 
