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Printed for R.Baldwin Jun. at the Rose in Pater Noster Row.

489

17518 JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the POLITICAL CLUB, continued from p. 453.

In the Debate begun in your last, the next Speech Ihall give, was that made by Pomponius Atticus, the Purport of which was as follows.

Mr. Prefident,

SIR,

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the leaft attended to our late publick tranfactions, muft know, that this has been his majesty's conftant and unwearied endeavour ever since the peace at Aix-la-Chapelle. Does not this, Sir, deferve the warmest acknowledgments of our gratitude? A Can it be fervility to declare that it does? Is there any thing faid of our late treaty with Spain, from whence an approbation thereof can be inferred, in cafe, upon inquiry, it fhould be found not to be fuch an one as has been reprefented to us in his majesty's fpeech from the throne? In fuch a cafe, may we not freely cenfure it, notwithstanding any thing now proposed to be faid of it? Sir, we may cenfure not only the treaty and the negotiators of it, but thofe alfo who advised his majefty to reprefent it in fuch a light to us. On the other hand, fhould the account we have of it be exactly true, as I am convinced it is; and should there be good reafon to believe, that his prefent Catholick majefty is fo juft to his own people, as to be well inclined towards this nation, have we not cause to rejoice? Can any Englishman, who understands the true interest of this kingdom, refufe to congratulate his country, as well as his fovereign, upon fuch a happy turn in the difpo fition of the court of Spain?

HE term fervility has, I find, been much infifted on by all the gentlemen who oppose our agreeing to the addrefs propofed; but, in my opinion, the truth can never juftly be called fervility: If the fact be true, the expreffing of that fact, tho' in the plaineft language, can never be faid to be fervile; and if the compliment, or the fact, upon which it is founded, be false, tho' dreffed up in the highest metaphor or allegory that 'can be invented by the moit poetical fancy, it must be allowed to be fervile: It cannot then, indeed, be C called fulfome; but in the language of parliament we ought, I think, to avoid the poetical ftile, as much as, I hope, we always fhall do the fervile. Upon this principle let us examine the expreffions made ufe of in the addrefs propofed, and if we do, we fhall find, even from that knowledge which every gentleman of any figure in this country must be master of, that the facts referred to are not only true, but that they deserve what is propofed to be faid of them.

Whatever fome gentlemen may be pleafed to fay, Sir, of the prefent tranquillity, I believe, there is not a gentleman in England, efpecially among those concerned in trade, that will not allow it to be better than a dangerous and expenfive war: In this refpect therefore it may be called a happy tranquillity; confequently, it is right and wife in his majesty to endeavour to preferve and eftablish it; and every one who has in November, 1751. H W

f-n.

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This, Sir, is a turn, which we could never have expected during the life of the late king of Spain, nor would he ever have agreed to fuch a treaty: He had always a view of fucceeding to the crown of France, and was therefore always influenced by French counfels. Befides, his meafures were all governed by his Par mefan queen, who never bore any good-will to this country, fince we defeated her favourite project of driving the Auftrians out of Italy; and whilst the entertained fuch a proQqq ject,

490 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. Nov.

ject, and the king her husband had
fuch a view, we could never hope
for any true friendship with the court
of Spain, because by this means they
were both led into a dependence on
France, notwithstanding its being fo
inconfiftent with the true intereft of A
their own kingdom, tho' not now
near fo inconfiftent as it was former-
ly; for whilft the Spaniards were in
poffeffion of the Netherlands and a
great part of Italy, they were under
a neceffity to court the friendship of
this nation, for defending them a- B
gainst the French, who were conti-
nually forming projects for wrefting
fome of thofe dominions from them;
but by the infamous treaty of Utrecht
the crown of Spain was at once ftript
of all thofe dominions, which were
given to the house of Auftria; and
this not only put an end to the jea-
loufy which the court of Spain had
always before entertained of France,
but laid a foundation for a lafting
conteft between them and the houfe
of Austria.

excepted, during the late war; for the want of these things was of very little inconvenience to us, but all the grandees of Spain, or what we call the landed intereft, were by that prohibition almost ruined, as they could no where else find a foreign market for any of the produce of their eftates, and their home confumption was not near fufficient for taking off all that was brought to market.

Then, Sir, as to our respective poffeffions in America, it is not the intereft of either nation to incroach upon the other's poffeffions; and tho' it is the intereft of the court of Spain to prevent a fmuggling trade, yet a trade by licenced fhips with our colonies is fometimes neceffary for the fupport of theirs, and at all C times very convenient for ours. An intercourfe of trade, even in that country, is therefore useful to both, and both of us have great reafon to be jealous of the French, who are daily endeavouring to incroach upon the Spaniards as well as upon us. Nay, they have of late years poffeffed themselves of the greateft part of Hifpaniola, which is the chief and the best island belonging to Spain in that part of the world. Therefore,

However, Sir, it is ftill the inte- D reft both of Spain and of this nation to be well with one another, both on account of trade, and on account of our respective dominions in America. As to trade, a free intercourfe is certainly advantageous to both nations; for we have always got at leaft 450,000l. annually, upon the balance of our trade with Spain; and there is no nation in the world that takes off and confumes fo much of the native produce of Spain as this nation does. With moft other nations, especially in their trade with France, they must pay ready money for all they take, without having thereby any vent for their native produce; but in their trade with this country, they pay only the small balance I have mentioned, and they thereby find a good market for al- G moft all the native produce they can fpare. This fhews the wisdom of our prohibiting the importation of any Spanish commodities, a very few

if the Spaniards would unbiaffedly confider their real intereft, and closeEly adhere to it, they would lay aside all thoughts of recovering their former poffeffions either in Italy or the Netherlands, and cultivate a conftant friendship both with this nation and the houfe of Auftria, in order to guard against France, which is the F nation that can most fenfibly hurt them, and the only nation that can of itself incline to hurt them, either in Europe or America. This I will maintain, Sir, to be the true interest of Spain; and the treaty they have lately concluded with us, gives me hopes, that they now begin to fee their true intereft, and that the asfurances his Catholick majefty has given are fincere ; confequently, I must think, that no objection ought

1751. PROCEEDINGS of the to be made againft this part of the addrefs propofed.

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These are my hopes, Sir, and if thefe hopes appear to be well founded, we have not much to fear from any event, that may hereafter threaten Europe with a war; but how any A gentleman can fuppofe, that thefe events are unknown, I cannot imagine. Sir, they are known, I be. lieve, at every coffee-house in London: The only two events, that, in all human appearance, can for many years tend to involve Europe in a war, are, the re-establishment of defpotick power in Sweden, and the death of the prefent emperor of Germany before the election of a king of the Romans; for if neither of thefe happen, the ambition of France can have no folid ground to work on, C nor will that nation venture to attack or openly incroach upon any of its neighbours, especially if the Spanish nation fhould open its eyes, and begin to cultivate a thorough friendship with Great-Britain and the house of

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Auftria. These are, therefore, the only two events that are to be guarded against, and how are they to be guarded againft? As to Sweden, certainly the best method is to propagate a juft fenfe of liberty among the people of that kingdom, efpecially thofe of the army; and, in con- E junction with Ruffia, to affure the patriots of that country a prefent fupport, in cafe their liberties fhould be openly attacked or fecretly undermined. I do not mean by patriots, Sir, those who have liberty in their mouths, and nothing but ambition or refentment at their hearts: I mean those who submit quietly to an eftablished free government, whilft nothing is attempted contrary to law; but are ready to draw their fwords, as well as open their mouths, as foon as they think their happy establish- G ment in any real danger. Of this

kind, I hope, there are multitudes in Sweden; and every one knows, that his majesty, in conjunction with

POLITICAL CLUB, &c. 491 Ruffia, has omitted nothing that might tend to increase their number.

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Then, Sir, with regard to the emperor's death, before the election of a king of the Romans, is there any thing more certain than that the best way to guard against the confequence of that fatal accident, is to bring on that election as foon as poffible? Suppofe the perfon propofed to be chofen to be an infant, yet even the choice of fuch a perfon would prevent an inteftine war in Germany, or at least render every prince of the empire that oppofed his being fet upon the Imperial throne, guilty of high-treafon, and liable to forfeit all the poffeffions and dignities that belong to them in the empire; which is a crime and a forfeiture they are never expofed to by oppofing, even by force of arms, a new election, or a difputed election. The choice therefore even of an infant for king of the Romans, would be a great fecurity against any inteftine war in Germany, in cafe of the death of the prefent emperor; and from experience as well as reafon we must conclude, that France will always be cautious of fending any of her armies into Germany, unless fhe is fure of being fupported by fome of the members of that formidable body. As to the difficulty of fettling the guardianfhip and regency, in cafe a minor fhould be chofen king of the Romans, I believe, it will be eafy to fettle that and every other point, provided the fettlement be made during the life of the prefent emperor; but fhould it be delayed till after his death, I am purfuaded, no fettlement of any kind could be made without an inteftine war in Germany, which would give the French a new opportunity of fpreading the flames of war all over Europe, and, probably, by fending the young pretender hither, of extending again the conflagration even to the bowels of this country; for if that young fpark lives, I believe, he will refufe no opportunity, Q992 however

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