Chapter XI.
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND THE FAMILY COMPACT—EFFECT ON THE NEGOTIATION.
The decree of the National Assembly, in May, ordering the armament of 14 vessels of the line has been studied in a former chapter. Attention was there called to the fact that this step was taken before Spain had made a formal demand for assistance under the family compact. It was also noted that the formal demand was made in the middle of June, but that the King, fearing the consequences, had delayed laying the matter before the Assembly.[382] On August 2, more than six weeks later, a letter from Montmorin informed the Assembly that Spain had demanded in the most positive manner the execution of treaties in case the negotiation with England did not turn out as desired. The King, hoping, for a speedy settlement, had thought it wise to defer provoking a discussion of the matter in the National Assembly; but in view of the continued preparations of England he could delay no longer. Therefore he had charged the writer to warn the Assembly and thought that it would be prudent to increase the French armament. He laid before the Assembly the letter of the Spanish ambassador of June 16, with copies of the letters and documents accompanying it, recounting the history of the dispute and the negotiations to the time when it was written. The minister asked the Assembly to deliberate on the demand of the Court of Madrid. All of the documents were referred to the diplomatic committee.[383]
On the next day, August 3, another letter from Montmorin notified the Assembly that a courier from Madrid had brought news of the signature of a declaration and counter declaration that gave hope of an amicable settlement. Great applause greeted the announcement. The letter and declarations were referred to the diplomatic committee. Dupont de Nemours then announced that he had some observations to present on the treaty with Spain known as the “family compact;” but to save the valuable time of the Assembly he would bring them to the attention of the Deputies by having them printed. Another Deputy announced that he also would present some remarks on the Spanish demand in the same manner.
Dupont, in his observations on the treaty, first announced the principles on which he proposed to examine it. It had been made, he said, thirty years before, when political philosophy had made scarcely any progress. It was antiquated and inconsistent in some respects, but these defects did not prevent its being just and salutary in principle. Some, he said, wished to break the treaty and abandon our allies, but reason, common sense, and honor point to the contrary—that we should confirm it. He declared that defensive and commercial arrangements ought to be kept, but anything involving offensive warfare ought to be struck out. He thought that it ought to be so modified that instead of a family it would be a national compact. Wherever the word “crown” occurred he would substitute the word “nation,” and instead of “the Kings agree,” etc., he would have it read “the nations (through their Kings).” He examined the treaty article by article and measured each by these standards. Most of the stipulations he would preserve, with slight modifications; a few he would strike out entirely. The stipulation which provided that the mere requisition should be sufficient to establish the obligation of the nation called upon to furnish the aid was wholly untenable, he declared. The need should be first established, and the nation called upon should have the right of judging. Instead of limiting the alliance to the House of Bourbon, he thought that all nations having similar sentiments ought to be admitted.
The other Deputy, who presented the observations on the Spanish demand, declared that Spain had been a faithful ally. She had taken up a failing cause in 1761 and shared in the unhappy sacrifices of two years later. She had aided in the American Revolution and had prepared to assist in the trouble with the Netherlands in 1787. Gratitude would command France to reciprocate; but he wished to appeal to reason and not to sentiment. Spain and France were natural allies because of common interests. The treaty of 1761, no longer a family but a national compact, offered many advantages. Spain was still the most important outlet for French commerce. France had profited more from the alliance than Spain, hence was indebted to her. The financial embarrassment at the time was serious, and a war would be dangerous, but even this ought not to cause France to sacrifice honor. He thought that the armaments ought to be continued and all the forces of France ought to be offered to Spain. If this should be done, England would probably give way. The war, if it should come, ought to have the support of all France and be waged on new and noble principles.[384]
It was more than three weeks before the diplomatic committee was ready to report. The principal member of the committee was Mirabeau. He was spokesman when the report was presented to the Assembly on August 25. He began by saying that the peace was not likely to be disturbed; that the territory in dispute between Spain and England belonged to neither, but to the natives; that it was not worth the loss of blood and treasure; that France, because of internal conditions, ought to avoid war; and that there would soon be universal peace and no need of allies. After giving these pacific assurances, he admitted that France ought to change her political principles, but declared that this ought not to be done suddenly. She could not remain isolated from the world. The suspension of treaties would be perilous. All treaties made by the King ought to be observed by the nation until they were annulled or changed. He recited the history of Spain’s faithful observance of the family compact; then asked whether it would be right for France to annul such a solemn engagement at a time when Spain was threatened by the same danger that she had three times warded off from France. In view of the great English armament, self-interest obliged France to strengthen her alliance with Spain. That would require a faithful observance of the treaty. If England did not really desire war, but was arming simply to conduct the negotiation more favorably, increasing the French armament would doubtless delay the result. But if the abandonment of French engagements should force Spain to make peace with England more promptly, a great wrong would be done to French credit and French commerce. If England desired war, then France ought to support Spain with all her resources. For if England should force Spain to succumb, France would be the next object of her ambition and vengeance. It was not proposed, he said, to ratify the compact as a whole, but only the defensive and commercial stipulations. He proposed to notify the King of Spain that the alliance would be preserved, and at the same time to refer the treaty to a committee for revision, after which it should be renewed.
The King of France was to open negotiations with the King of Spain at once for this purpose. He also proposed that the fleet be raised to 30 ships of the line, with a proportionate number of smaller vessels. After a few short favorable addresses on the report the discussion was postponed to the next day.[385]
When the discussion was resumed on August 26 the report met with very little opposition. There was a futile attempt, led by Pétion, to postpone the decision until further information might be obtained. L’Abbé Maury favored confirming the treaty as it stood, declaring, rightly as events proved, that it would give England a great advantage to leave the alliance so indefinite. Ricard considered 30 vessels too small an armament and proposed increasing it to 45. Others favored his idea and Mirabeau embodied it in his report. With this modification, the decrees proposed were unanimously adopted by the Assembly. The essential points were: First, defensive and commercial arrangements with Spain were to be observed; secondly, negotiations were to be opened with Spain for the purpose of renewing and perpetuating the alliance; thirdly, the armament should be raised to 45 ships of the line, with a proportionate number of smaller vessels.[386]