HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



119 



dington our former relations. The 

 papers, if you have them, will in- 

 form you, that all our conversation 

 at present turns on invasion, ajid 

 that we at length begin to take mea- 

 sures for enabling us to fuce our 

 enemies, if they should be able to 

 eft"e6l a landing, which, though very 

 improbable, is not, certainly, in any 

 manner impossible. To speak of 

 conquering, or subduing ten or 

 twelve millions of men, if prepared 

 for the contest, and direfted by a 

 government desirous and capable of 



animating their 



efforts^ would be 



completely ridiculous. But expe- 

 rience has shewn, that the number 

 of inhabitants alone, and even ad- 

 vantage of local situation, are no- 

 thing, if the diredion of the defence 

 jcmains in the hands of men distin- 

 guished only b)' their imbecility and 

 weakness. In Holland even, and 

 still more in Germany, Italy, and 

 S wisserland, the countries were given 

 up by the weakness, not of the peo- 

 ple, but of their governments ; and 

 iu like manner, if in this island, or 

 in Ireland, we shoiUd experience any 

 considerable check, we shall ov.e it 

 not to the timidity or ignorance of 

 the nation, but solely to those of 

 government. You must be already 

 enabled to judge to what a degree 

 these qualities exist in the present 

 government, if (as I suppose) you 

 have, before you receive this letter, 

 read the correspondence of lord 

 Hawkesbury with Otto and lord 

 Whitworth, and compared the dates 

 of the dillerent counter-orders in re- 

 gard to the Cape, during the course 

 of our communications with France. 

 It would be superfluous to add to 

 the length of this letter, by expati- 

 ating on the pleasure which I ex- 

 perieaced, on finding in your letter 

 those expressions of friendship which 

 l)^loog to 0ur old and uaiuterruptqd 



intimacy. I never did more for you 

 than you would hive done ivjr me, 

 on a like occasion ;. and if the in- 

 trigue planned against you is totally 

 without effect, and your measures 

 have been approv!-d before they 

 were arraigned, I cannot flatter 

 myself with having contributed to 

 this result by my efforts ; — but you 

 may, in my opinion, consider the 

 affair as terminated. It does not 

 aj)pear that a single word of it was 

 mjntiuncd in parliament before 

 Christmas, and I really believe that 

 you have not];ing to fear. You can 

 now have nothing further to appre- 

 hend on the subject, except perhaps 

 the trouble and unp}>jasantness of a 

 controversy of this dcf^cription. 

 '• I rcmamj &c. &c. Sec. 

 CSigned) " Grenville." 



Of the view of political alJairs, 

 presented in this letter, the result 

 may perhaps shortly be stated to 

 be, that, while the sentiments both 

 of the " old" and of the ''• new" 

 ojjposition (as those parties were 

 termed, of Avhich Mr. P'ox and lord 

 Grinville were the chiefs) were 

 avowedly unfavourable to ihe mea- 

 sures of the existing government, 

 the predilection originally manifest- 

 ed in their favour, by the late mini- 

 ster (Mr. Pitt) had gradually sub- 

 sided, first into coldness and indif- 

 ference, then into an expressed dis- 

 approbation of some parts of their 

 conduct ; and, that at the period of 

 which we are now speaking, he was* 

 supposed to entertain sentiments not 

 much less hostile to administration, 

 than those of the parties by Avhom 

 their measures were directly op- 

 posed. 



No material change appears to 

 have occtirred in this respect in the 

 course at" the autumn of the last 

 year ; and, at the opening of the 

 following sessioii of parliament, the 



I 4 four 



