179I* Parliamentary Proceeding/. - 185 



rits of the cafe, dwelt upon the indignation that was univerfally 

 felt, when the news of the infiilt that had been offered to the 

 nation arrived. " Reparation, however, he aided, has been given 

 for this offence, ample and unequivocal reparation. We have 

 received an apology highly grateful to our feelinjjs, and a con- 

 cefSon from arrogant and infiilting pretenfions as advantageous 

 as we could wilh : we are now authorifed to navigate undilturb- 

 ed the Pacific Ocean, and to fettle on all its unoccupied fliores. 

 He then compared the condu(ft of the prefent admi::iftration 

 with that of Sir Robert Wa'.pole, and made t!:e parallei turn out 

 highly in favour of the Former. He iiififted tlat Spain would 

 not have made this great facrifice unlefs the armamtrt had been 

 carried forward : he alledged Spain had long been arming in fe- 

 cret, and that the infult vv<is dctcrminedand deliberare, but that 

 by our Ipirited exertions their defigns h.ad been fruftrated. 



He then made a grand difplay of the advantages that we 

 would derive from the Convention, among which, an increafc 

 of our trade with China was not omitted. " But independent, 

 faid he, of thefe advantages, which in the map are certainly 

 very important, it would have been a mortifying circumftance, 

 had we tamely left to the Spaniards the undifturbed poffeffion 

 of half a world ! Were we to be excluded from feas which 

 we had explored at a great expence ? A fpirit gf enterprife is 

 now excited — fliips are fitting out for that trade :" and ihallwe, 

 by refiifing to arm in defence of our rights, fuffer this fpirit 

 to evaporate in fruitlefs preparation ? — Certainly not. 



Tho' Britain, he obfirved, had not obtained an excluft-ve 

 right of fettlement on the North-weft ccaft of America to her- 

 Iclf alone, tho' other nations are allowed to participate in it, 

 ** we alone have redreflcd the general grievance, and puniflied 

 the arrogance of the haughty and ambitious Spaniard : we have' 

 forced him to relinquiih his ufurpations to unbounded em- 

 pire, and we ineet v/ith the reward of our generous exertions." 

 He for thefc regions gave the Convention his tirongeft funport, 

 Mr Grey infilled, iliat if the pofitions of the laft fpeakerwcre 

 true, they could not vote for the addrefs, becaufc Parliament 

 would then fandion an acft of flagrant injullice, and a violation 

 of national faith : for if that country had been confirmiJd to 

 Spain by the peace of Utrecht, and the Conventions of 1759 and 

 1767, we had no right now to claim them. It was to prevent 

 any errors of that kind he had moved for the papers. He con- 

 tended that by the Convention it did not appear that we were 

 to have right to a fingle foot of ground. By the -jd article, the 

 parties were to rejlore or makt reparation for f;.ch places a3 

 were taken fublequent to April 1 7S9. Spain might choofe to 

 make a compenfation : he could difcover nothing, bat in the 

 third article a liberty of hftiing, on which all other articles were 

 reftn(5lionK. He could not conceive what v^as meant by the 

 Vol. V. A a t 



