. 
152] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
dress; in substance, representing 
their dangerous principles, the ne- 
cessity of persevering in the contest. 
in-which we were at present en- — 
gaged, and the impropriety of 
courting any negociation of peace 
_with France in its present state. 
Lord Fitzwilliam’s motion was ne- 
gatived without a division. —- 
The order of the day, thirtieth 
of December, for taking into consi- 
deration hismajesty’smessage,onthe 
failure of the negociation a peace 
with France, in the house of com- 
mons, being read from the chair, 
Mr. Pitt rose up, to move anad- 
dress to his majesty, in corisequence 
of his most gracious communication 
to that house. The motion, which 
it was his duty, he said, to make on 
that subject, unquestionably involv- 
edin it many great and momentous 
considerations: He grievously la- 
mented the sudden stop which had 
been put to that negociation, by 
which, we had fondly hoped, that, 
we should at last have been relieved 
from’ the contest in which, for sowe 
time past, we had been engaged : 
a contest,: into’ which we were 
forced against our will: a contest, 
produced by therepeatedaggressions 
of an imperious enemy; a contest, 
undertaken, ou our part, to main- 
tain our rights and liberties as a 
nation, the very existence of our 
civil and political constitution, and 
the general policy and security of 
Europe.- The failure of the nego- 
ciation, he considered as a subject 
of regret and disappointment; but, 
he added, that it was regret without 
despondency ; disappointment with- 
out despair, When we wish for 
peace, said he, we wish for a secure 
and permanent peace, and the se- 
cure and permanent possession of 
those blessings with which peace is 
accompanied. If, with our ardent 
desire of peace, we have’ qualified 
the steps which we have taken to 
procure it, by a due regard to these, 
objects, we shall not find that our 
endeavour has been without its ad~ 
vantage: we shall have proved, to 
all Europe, to whom ambitious and 
unreasonable pretensionsought tobe 
ascribed. We’ may expect.to see, 
as the result of such aconduct, En- 
gland united, and France’ divided. 
In this question, we shall have to 
consider not only what has been 
‘ the conduct of our own govern~ 
ment, but to’ consider also the con- 
duct of the enemy ; in the manner 
in which our offers bave been re- 
jected, in the peremptory and ab- 
rupt manner in which the nego- 
ciation has been broken off; your 
ambassadur insulted, your propo 
sitions rejected, and eyen the sem~ 
blance of terms not produced in 
‘return, 
The two great considerations for 
the house, Mr. Pitt observed, were, 
first, what sentiments they ought to 
express to his majesty, on the pre. 
sent occasion ; and, secondly, com. 
bining the efforts made by his ma- 
jesty with the conduct adopted on 
the part of the enemy, what was 
the duty they were bound to per- 
form, for the purpose of securing 
happiness and prosperity, liberty 
and ‘independence ? Mr. Pitt con- 
trested the sincerity and readiness 
with which the British government 
had entered into the negociation; 
and the reasonableness of the terms 
they had proposed, with the back- 
wardness of the French to treat at 
all, and the extreme arrogance, in~ 
solence, and, indeed, absurdity, of 
their conduct, in superseding, in a 
treaty with independent powers, 
the law and usages of nations, by 
their 
