Complete Works of Samuel Johnson, page 275
This, my lords, is surely such treatment as no liberal mind can very patiently support; it is little less than to require that we should follow our guides with our eyes shut; that we should place implicit confidence in the wisdom of our ministers, and having first suffered them to blind ourselves, assist them afterwards to blind the people.
The longer I dwell upon the consideration of this motion, the more arguments arise to persuade me, that we ought not hastily to agree to it. My lords, the address proposed, like the speech itself, is of a very complicated and intricate kind, and comprises in a few words many transactions of great importance, crowded together with an artful brevity, that the mind may be hindered by the multitude of images, from a distinct and deliberate consideration of particulars. Here are acts of negotiation confounded with operations of war, one treaty entangled with another, and the union of the Hanoverians with our troops, mentioned almost in the same sentence with the Spanish war. This crowd of transactions, so different in their nature, so various in their consequences, who can venture to approve in the gross? or who can distinguish without long examination.
I hope, my lords, that I shall not be charged with want of candour, in supposing the motion not to be an extemporaneous composition, but to be drawn up with art and deliberation. It is well known, that the address is often concerted at the same time that the speech is composed; and that it is not uncommon to take advantage of the superiority which long acquaintance with the question gives those who defend the motion, above those who oppose it.
We are indeed told, that the visible effects of his majesty’s measures prove their expediency, and that we may safely applaud that conduct of which we receive the benefits. But, my lords, the advantages must be seen or felt before they can be properly acknowledged; and it has not been shown, that we have yet either intimidated the enemies of the queen of Hungary, whose interest we have been lately taught to believe inseparable from our own, or encouraged any new allies to declare in her favour.
The Dutch, my lords, are not yet roused from their slumber of neutrality; and how loudly soever we may assert our zeal, or with whatever pomp we may display our strength, they still seem to doubt either our integrity or force; and are afraid of engaging in the quarrel, lest they should be either conquered or betrayed. Nor has the approach of our army, however they may be delighted with the show, inspired them with more courage, though they are enforced by the troops of Hanover.
The addition of these forces to the British army, has been mentioned as an instance of uncommon attention to the great cause of universal liberty, as a proof that no regard has been paid to private interest, and that all considerations are sacrificed to publick good. But since no service can be so great but it may be overpaid, it is necessary that we may judge of the benefit, to inform us on what terms it has been obtained, and how well the act of succession has been observed on this occasion.
Though I am too well acquainted, my lords, with the maxims which prevail in the present age, and have had too much experience of the motives, by which the decisions of the senate are influenced, to offer any motion of my own, yet these reasons will withhold me from concurring with this. I cannot but be of opinion, that the question ought to be postponed to another day, in which the house may be fuller, our deliberations be assisted by the wisdom and experience of more than thirty lords, who are now absent, and the subjects of inquiry, of which many are new and unexpected, may be more accurately considered; nor can I prevail upon myself to return to general declarations any other than general answers.
Lord CARTERET answered in substance as follows: — My lords, as there has arisen no new question, as his majesty in assisting the queen of Hungary, has only followed the advice of the senate; I am far from being able to discover, why any long deliberation should be necessary to a concurrence with the motion now before us, or whence any doubt can arise with regard to the effects of his majesty’s measures; effects which no man will deny, who will believe either his own eyes, or the testimony of others; effects, which every man who surveys the state of Europe must perceive, and which our friends and our enemies will equally confess.
To these measures, which we are now to consider, it must be ascribed, that the French are no longer lords of Germany; that they no longer hold the princes of the empire in subjection, lay provinces waste at pleasure, and sell their friendship on their own terms. By these measures have the Dutch been delivered from their terrours, and encouraged to deliberate freely upon the state of Europe, and prepare for the support of the Pragmatick sanction. But the common cause has been most evidently advanced by gaining the king of Prussia, by whose defection the balance of the war was turned, and at least thirty thousand men taken away from the scale of France.
This, my lords, was a change only to be effected by a patient expectation of opportunities, and a politick improvement of casual advantages, and by contriving methods of reconciling the interest of Prussia with the friendship of the queen of Hungary; for princes, like other men, are inclined to prefer their own interest to all other motives, and to follow that scheme which shall promise most gain.
That all this, my lords, has been effected, cannot be denied; nor can it be said to have been effected by any other causes than the conduct of Britain: had this nation looked either with cowardly despair, or negligent inactivity, on the rising power of France and the troubles of the continent; had the distribution of empire been left to chance, our thoughts confined wholly to commerce, and our prospects not extended beyond our own island, the liberties of Europe had been at an end, the French had established themselves in the secure possession of universal monarchy, would henceforth have set mankind at defiance, and wantoned without fear in oppression and insolence.
These, my lords, are consequences of the measures pursued by his majesty, of which neither the reality nor the importance can be questioned, and, therefore, they may doubtless be approved without hesitation. For surely, my lords, the addition of the Hanoverian troops to the forces of our own nation can raise no scruples, nor be represented as any violation of the act of settlement.
Of the meaning of that memorable act, I believe, I do not need any information. I know it is provided, that this nation shall not be engaged in war in the quarrel of Hanover; but I see no traces of a reciprocal obligation, nor can discover any clause, by which we are forbidden to make use in our own cause of the alliance of Hanover, or by which the Hanoverians are forbidden to assist us.
I hope, my lords, this representation of the state of our transactions with Hanover, will not be charged with artifice or sophistry. I know how invidious a task is undertaken by him who attempts to show any connexion between interests so generally thought opposite, and am supported in this apology only by the consciousness of integrity, and the intrepidity of truth.
The assistance of Hanover, my lords, was, at this time, apparently necessary. Our own troops, joined with the Hessians, composed a body too small to make any efficacious opposition to the designs of France; but by the addition of sixteen thousand men, became sufficiently formidable to oblige her to employ those troops for the security of her frontiers, with which she intended to have overwhelmed Italy, and to have exalted another Spanish prince to a new kingdom. The Spaniards, deprived of this assistance, harassed by the Austrians with perpetual alarms, and debarred by our fleet from the supplies which are provided for them in their own country, must languish with penury and hardships, being equally cut off from succour and from flight.
Thus, my lords, it is evident, that the true and everlasting interest of Britain has been steadily pursued; that the measures formed to promote it have been not only prudent, but successful. We did not engage sooner in the quarrel, because we were not able to form an army sufficiently powerful. An advantageous peace is only to be obtained by vigorous preparations for war; nor is it to be expected that our enemies should court our friendship, till they see that our opposition is really formidable. Such, my lords, is our present state; we may reasonably hope that the French will desist from their designs, because they will have a confederacy to oppose, more powerful than that by which their immortal monarch was lately humbled; and I hope that conduct will always be applauded in this house, which enables us to repress the arrogance of France.
Lord WESTMORELAND then spoke to the following purport: — My lords, though the warmth with which the noble lord has defended the motion, and the confidence with which he asserts the propriety and efficacy of the measures to which it relates, are such proofs of the strength of his conviction as leave no room to doubt his sincerity; yet as the same arguments do not operate upon different minds with the same force, I hope I shall not be thought less sincere, or less studious of the publick happiness, or the honour of the crown, though I presume to differ from him.
In the motion now before us, I cannot concur, because, though it should be allowed to contain a just representation of foreign affairs, yet it appears to me to omit those considerations which I think it the duty of this house to offer to his majesty. This nation is, in my opinion, exposed to enemies more formidable than the French; nor do I think that we are at leisure to defend the liberties of Europe, till we have made some provisions for the security of our own; or to regulate the balance of power, till we have restored our constitution to its ancient equilibrium.
That there are flagrant proofs of the most enormous corruption throughout the whole subordination of publick offices; that our publick funds are only nurseries of fraud, and that trust of every kind is only considered as an opportunity of plundering, appears evidently from the universal prevalence of luxury and extravagance, from the sudden affluence of private men, from the wanton riot of their tables, the regal splendour of their equipages, and the ostentatious magnificence of their buildings.
It is evident, likewise, that corruption is not confined to publick offices; that those who have lost their own integrity, have endeavoured to destroy the virtue of others; that attempts have been made to subject the whole nation to the influence of corruption, and to spread the contagion of bribery from the highest to the lowest classes of the people.
It is therefore necessary, before we engage in the consideration of foreign affairs, to prosecute the inquiry which was begun in the last session, to trace wickedness to its source, and drag the authors of our miseries into the light.
These, my lords, are the inquiries which the general voice of the people importunately demands; these are the petitions which ought never to be rejected; all parties are now united, and all animosities extinguished; nor is there any other clamour than for inquiries and punishment.
The other house, my lords, has been engaged in the laudable attempt to detect those who have betrayed, or plundered, or corrupted their country; and surely we ought to have so much regard to our own honour, as not to suffer them to toil alone in a design so popular, so just, and so necessary, while we amuse ourselves with applauding the sagacity of our ministers, who, whatever they may hope themselves, or promise others, have not yet prevailed on any foreign power to concur with them, or to interpose in the affairs of the continent. And, therefore, I cannot conceal my suspicion, that instead of furnishing any subject for panegyricks on our policy and caution, we are now wasting our treasures and our strength in a romantick expedition.
Since, therefore, my lords, our domestick evils seem to me most dangerous, I move, that in order to their speedy remedy, and that the people may see we do not forget their immediate interest, this addition be made to the motion now before us:
“And humbly to assure his majesty, that we will apply our constant and persevering endeavours to calm and heal animosities and divisions, unseasonable as they are at all times, and most pernicious in the present juncture, which the true fatherly tenderness of his majesty, out of the abundance of his constant care for the rights and liberties of his people, has so affectionately at the close of last session recommended from the throne, by searching thoroughly and effectually into the grounds, which are or may be assigned for publick discontent, agreeably to the ancient rules and methods of parliament.”
This additional clause being delivered in writing to the speaker, he read it to the house, but said that the noble lord spoke so low, that he could not tell where he proposed to have it inserted. Lord WESTMORELAND then directed him to read the motion, which done, he desired that his clause might be added at the end.
Upon this lord RAYMOND spoke as follows: — My lords, the addition which the noble lord has offered to the address proposed, cannot, in my opinion, be properly admitted, as it has no relation to the preceding clauses, but is rather inconsistent with them.
Nor do I think it only improper with regard to the other part of the motion, but unnecessary in itself; since it has no reference to his majesty’s speech, now under our consideration; since it will facilitate none of our inquiries, which may be carried on with equal vigour without any such unseasonable declaration of our design.
If, therefore, the motion for the amendment be not withdrawn, I shall move, that the first question be first put.
[The question was then put with regard to the first motion, and it passed in the affirmative, without any division.]
HOUSE OF COMMONS, DECEMBER 10, 1742.
Motion in the committee of supplies, for granting pay for sixteen thousand Hanoverian troops for the four months last past.
Sir William YONGE opened the debate, and spoke in substance as follows: — Sir, though the general state of the kingdoms of Europe cannot be supposed to be wholly unknown in this assembly, yet since the decision of the question now before us, must depend upon the conceptions which every man has formed with regard to the affairs on the continent, it will be necessary to exhibit them to view in a narrow compass, that nothing which may contribute to our information may be overlooked or forgotten.
The late emperour, for some time before his death, finding that there remained little hopes of male issue, and that his family would be consequently in danger of losing part of the honours and dignities which it had so long enjoyed, turned his thoughts to the security of his hereditary dominions, which he entailed upon his eldest daughter, to preserve them from being broken into fragments, and divided among the numerous pretenders to them; and that this settlement might be preserved from violation, employed all the opportunities which any extraordinary conjunctures presented to him of obtaining the concurrence and ratification of the neighbouring states.
As it was always the interest of this nation to support the house of Austria, as a counterbalance to the power of France, it was easy to procure from us a solemn accession to this important settlement; and we, therefore, promised to support it, whenever it should be attacked. This was, in reality, only a promise to be watchful for our own advantage, and to hinder that increase of the French influence, which must, at length, be fatal to ourselves.
The like engagements were proposed to many other powers, which proposals were by most of them accepted, and among others by France, upon consideration of a very large increase of her dominions; and it was hoped, that whatever might be determined by the electors with respect to the imperial dignity, the hereditary dominions to the house of Austria would remain in the same family, and that France would be hindered by her own engagements from disturbing the peace of the empire.
But no sooner did the death of the emperour give the enemies of the house of Austria hopes of gratifying without danger their resentment and ambition, than almost all the neighbouring princes began to revive their pretensions, and appeared resolved to recover by force, what they alleged to have been only by force withheld from them. Armies were raised on all sides, invasions either attempted or threatened from every quarter, and the whole world looked upon the daughter of Austria either with pity or with joy, as unable to make any stand against the general confederacy, and under a necessity of yielding to the most oppressive terms, and purchasing peace from her enemies at their own price.
It cannot be mentioned, without indignation, that this universal combination was formed and conducted by the influence of the French, who, after having agreed to the Pragmatick sanction, omitted no endeavours to promote the violation of it; and not only incited the neighbouring princes to assert their claim by promises of assistance, but poured numerous armies into the empire, not only to procure by force, and without the least regard to equity, an election in favour of the duke of Bavaria, but to assist him in the invasion of the Austrian dominions, of which the settlement had been ratified by their concurrence, purchased at a price which might justly have been thought too great, even though they had observed their stipulations.
The pleas which they advanced in vindication of their conduct, it is not necessary to relate; since, however artfully they may be formed, the common sense of mankind must perceive them to be false. It is to no purpose, that they declare themselves not to have receded from their promise, because they enter the empire only as auxiliaries, and their troops act under the command of the elector of Bavaria; since he that furnishes troops for the invasion of those territories which he is obliged to protect, may very justly be considered as an invader; as he who assists a thief, partakes the guilt of theft.
All contracts, sir, whether between states or private persons, are to be understood according to the known intention of the two parties; and I suppose it will not be pretended, by the most hardened advocate for the conduct of the French, that the late emperour would have purchased, at so dear a rate, their accession to the Pragmatick sanction, if he had supposed, that they still thought themselves at liberty to employ all their treasure and their force in assisting others to violate it.
It is well known, that an unsuccessful war, which the French are likewise suspected of assisting, had, a short time before the death of the emperour, weakened his forces, and exhausted his revenues; and that, therefore, when he was surprised by death, he left his family impoverished and defenceless; so that his daughter being without money or armies, and pressed by enemies on every side of her dominions, was immediately reduced to such distress as, perhaps, she only was able to support, and such difficulties as no other would have entertained the least hope of being able to surmount.
