It were to be wished, that no late instance could be produced of conduct regulated by the same principles; and that this shameful, this pernicious partiality had been universally allowed to have ceased with the late reign; but it has never yet been shown, that the late neutrality, by which Hanover was preserved, did not restrain the arms of Britain; nor when it has been asked, why the Spanish army was, when within reach of the cannon of the British navy, peaceably transported to Italy, has any other reason been assigned, than that the transports could not be destroyed without a breach of the neutrality of Hanover?
This, my lords, is a subject on which I could have only been induced to dwell, by my zeal for the present establishment, and my personal affection for his majesty. It is universally allowed, that not only the honour and prosperity, but the safety of a British monarch, depends upon the affections of his subjects; and that neither splendid levees, nor large revenues, nor standing armies, can secure his happiness or his power any longer than the people are convinced of his tenderness and regard, of his attention to their complaints, and his zeal for their interest. If, therefore, it should ever be generally believed, that our king considers this nation only as appendent to his electoral dominions, that he promotes the interest of his former subjects at the expense of those by whom he has been exalted to this awful throne, and that our commerce, our treasures, and our lives, are sacrificed to the safety, or to the enlargement of distant territories, what can be expected? what but murmurs, disaffection, and distrust, and their natural consequences, insurrection and rebellion; rebellion, of which no man can foresee the event, and by which that man may perhaps be placed upon the throne, whom we have so wisely excluded and so solemnly abjured.
Of this unreasonable regard to the interest of Hanover, the contract which we are now considering exhibits, if not a proof too apparent to be denied, yet such an appearance as we ought for our own sakes and that of his majesty to obviate; and therefore I think the, address which is now proposed in the highest degree reasonable; and am convinced, that by complying with our request, his majesty will regain the affections of many of his subjects, whom a long train of pernicious measures have filled with discontent; and preserve the loyalty of many others, who, by artful representations of the motives and consequences of this contract, may be alienated and perverted.
Lord BATHURST replied to the following purport:—My lords, as I have no reason to doubt of the noble duke's affection to the present royal family, I am convinced, that the ardour of his expressions is the effect of his zeal, and that the force of his representations proceeds only from the strength of his conviction; and, therefore, I am far from intending to censure any accidental negligence of language, or any seeming asperity of sentiment. I know, that the openness and dignity of mind which has incited him to declare his opinion with so much freedom, will induce him likewise to retract it, when he shall be convinced, that he has been deceived by false representations, or that he has formed his conclusions too hastily, without an attentive examination of the question in its whole extent.
I shall, therefore, endeavour to explain the motives upon which all these measures have been formed which we have heard so warmly censured; and show, that they were the consequences not of haste and negligence, but of vigilance and circumspection; that they were formed upon a deliberate survey of the complicated interests of the European powers, and dictated not by a partiality to Hanover, but a faithful attention to the interest of Britain.
It has been already observed by a noble lord, that there was no choice allowed us; that the state of Europe required that we should not sit unactive; and that yet there was no other method of acting, by which we could benefit our allies, or injure our enemies; and that, therefore, though our interposition had not produced all the effects which our zeal might incline us to wish, yet our conduct ought not to be condemned; because, though we did not press forward through the nearest path to the great object of our pursuit, we exerted our utmost speed in the only way that was left open. This, my lords, is, in my opinion, a very just apology; nor do I see, that this vindication can be confuted or invalidated, otherwise than by showing, that some different measures, measures equally reasonable, were equally in our power.
But because the plea of necessity may, perhaps, be evaded; and because it is, at least, pleasing to discover, that what was necessary was likewise convenient, I shall endeavour to show, that our measures have produced already such effects as have sufficiently rewarded our expenses; and that we may yet reasonably hope, that greater advantages will arise from them.
There are, indeed, some whom it will not be easy to satisfy, some who declare not against the manner in which the war is prosecuted, but against the war itself; who think the power of France too formidable to be opposed, and the British people too much exhausted or enervated to hold any longer the balance of the continent.
I have, indeed, my lords, always declared myself of a different opinion, and have frequently endeavoured to rouse others from a kind of indolent despair and tame acquiescence in the attempts of the French, by representations of the wealth and force, the influence and alliances of our own nation. I have often asserted, that I did not doubt but her conquests might be stopped by vigorous opposition, and that the current of her power, which had by artificial machines of policy been raised higher than its source, would subside and stagnate, when its course was no longer assisted by cowardice, and its way levelled by submission.
These, my lords, were my sentiments, and this was my language, at a time when all the powers of Europe conspired to flatter the pride of France by falling at her feet, when her nod was solicitously watched by all the princes of the empire, when there was no safety but by her protection, nor any enterprise but by her permission; when her wealth influenced the councils of nations, when war was declared at her command in the remotest corners of Europe, and every contest was submitted to her arbitration.