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ent degrees of guilt that belong to different individuals. On that ground it is impossible to refuse an inquiry.

I have now nearly gone through the different points to which at the outset I called the attention of the house, though I have purposely omitted many cir. cumstances connected with the subject. I know it to be a common argument against such motions as this to say: "Your final object is the removal of ministers; why then do you not move at once to remove the king's ministers?" My answer is: Because I think we ought first to have an inquiry. At the same time I candidly admit my opinion to be, that if an inquiry be gone into, the result must be the removal of his majesty's present ministers. On what rational ground should this induce any member of the house of commons to oppose inquiry? Does any man who approves of continuing the war, hope for better success than we have hitherto experienced, while it is conducted with the same weakness and folly? Does any man who wishes for an end to the war, hope that his majesty's present ministers can obtain for this country a safe and honourable peace? If, after an inquiry into their past conduct, it shall turn out that they have acted justly and wisely, then let us continue our confidence in them. But if the contrary should appear, as I strongly suspect it will, then it will become the duty of this house to call them to an account, parhaps to punishment. This inquiry, among other advantages attending it, will discover to the nation the true causes of all our late failures and calamities.

In every undertaking, there are two points to be considered-the object and the means. Wise men choose a wise object, and persist in their efforts to obtain it by varying the means, the object still the same. The conduct of the present administration has been quite the reverse with regard to the war. Day after day, and motion after motion has varied the object, but they uniformly insist on the same means. Blood, war, and treasure are their means, however they may vary their object. They have invariably persisted in these means, and in the means

(if I may so express myself) of putting these means in execution, they have equally persisted. They have constantly avoided making a choice between the two branches of the alternative I have stated. They have roused all France against them. They have gained no party whatever in that country, because they have clearly shown that they deserve the confidence of no party.

The present state of the affairs of Ireland shows, that there is no part of the British empire in which the strongest traces of the minister's misconduct are not to be found. There are some occasions, one would imagine, upon which ministers must wish to be clearly understood. But men never get the better of their nature; and whenever the right honourable gentleman opposite to me expresses himself, he is differently understood by every man who hears him; even upon those occasions when he pretends to be most explicit, he is differently understood by different members of this house, by his own particular friends in it. And when he is called upon to explain himself, he is equally unfortunate; his expressions are still ambiguous and doubtful. What has lately happened in Ireland is a further proof of this: for it now turns out, that upon the most important subjects he is not understood, or rather he is misunderstood by his own colleagues in the cabinet. Has not the right honourable gentleman the faculty of speech? It is not surely for want of words, or choice of expression, that the right honourable gentleman was thus unintelligible. But, although possessed of as great powers of eloquence as ever belonged to man, he employs that gift, not for the purpose for which it was conferred, of being clearly and distinctly understood, but for the purpose of being misunderstood. When in a private room with some of his new colleagues, it is impossible for the right honourable gentleman so to express himself as that they can be certain they understand him. What was said of a great man of ancient times, is extremely applicable to the right honourable gentleman-In rebus politicis,

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nihil simplex, nihil apertum, nihil honestum. If we go into this inquiry, we shall prove to our constituents that we are really affected by the state of the country, and that we are not idle nor forgetful of our duty. It is of much importance in this moment of danger, that we should be perfectly acquainted with our true situation. Let us put it out of the power of any man to say, that Great Britain is persisting in a disastrous war, without knowing who are her allies; without inquiring what are the causes of her failures and calamities; and that every thing is gone except the name of her ancient constitution.

But whether a committee of inquiry is granted or not, I shall at least derive this satisfaction from having moved for it, that I shall show to the people of England that there are still some men in the great council of the nation, who anxiously wish to have an opportunity of proving to them what is their real situation, and of doing every thing in their power to avert, if possible, the further calamities of war, and effusion of human blood.

If a committee of inquiry is gone into, I shall have occasion to move for a number of papers, to which I have alluded in the course of my speech, particularly the correspondence respecting Ireland, and which will afford that information which I conceive to be of so much importance. At present I shall conclude with moving: "That this house do resolve itself into a committee of the whole house, to consider of the state of the nation."

MR. FOX'S SPEECH,

IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, ON THE SECOND READING OF THE BILL FOR THE NEW ASSESSED TAXES.

No period of the " mighty contest," which she

so gloriously waged against revolutionary France, was more sinister in its events, or held forth more gloomy prospects to Britain than the year 1797.

Defeated by the frantick and desperate energy of the enemy; by the treachery of some of her allies, by the supineness of others, and by the feeble, wavering, irresolute conduct of the whole in her well devised schemes to curb the ambition, and to check the rapid strides of French aggrandizement on the continent, she found at the same moment within her own dominions a widely diffused spirit of disaffection, which seemed, at least in one and the most vulnerable portion of them, fast ripening into revolt, and the distractions of civil discord.

As, moreover, not a single object for which the war was undertaken had hitherto been attained, save the prevention of the pernicious doctrines of the "Republican Decalogue" acquiring ascendency in the country, an advantage scarcely to be comprehended, much less duly appreciated by any vulgar capacity, and, as also every hope of French humiliation, once so sanguinely indulged was vanished, the nation, even a considerate and loyal part of it, in the humour of despondency and mortification, were

withdrawing their confidence from the ministry,and now called as loudly for peace, as they had before vehemently insisted on the commencement and prosecution of hostilities.

But, happily, at this awful juncture, there was at the head of the British councils a statesman! who, eminently endowed with the "courage of the cabinet,” saw these thickened difficulties without dejection or dismay. Not discouraged by the derelict state in which his country was left by the recreant desertion of her former associates in the struggle; nor by the gigantick power of France; nor by the complaints, and clamours, and treasonable combinations at home, he coolly determined to urge the war with renovated exertion, and redoubled vigour.

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Preparatory, however, to the introduction of his new measures he deemed it expedient distinctly to show to parliament, and the people, the utter impracticability of concluding a peace consistently with the honour, the rights, or even security of the empire, For this purpose, a negotiation with the Regicide Republick" was opened at Lisle, in a temper sufficiently moderate and conciliatory. But the enemy meeting these pacifick dispositions by claims in their nature as lofty, as they were arrogantly preferred, the negotiation was broken off. The result of this experiment restored, in a great degree, the popularity of the administration, though a considerable party still remained, both in and out of parliament opposed to it.

On the 22d of November the minister, in bringing forward his annual statement of accounts, declared it to be his intention to have recourse to a perfectly new and solid system of finance, which should be adequate to the publick exigencies, and to the support of the country in the arduous situation in which she was placed.

The principal feature of the new system, was a proposition "to raise within the year seven millions by additional imposts, which should be regulated by the existing assessed taxes in a triplicate proportion

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