reverfe of fortune to produce a most dangerous retaliation on the part of the French. In vindication of the proclamations great ftrefs might poffibly be laid on what had formerly taken place in the island of St. Euftatius, a precedent which, he believed, would not be very popular in the country. In that cafe, however, there was a diftinction from the prefent; the commanders had been particularly inftructed to take poffeffion of that ifland as an hoftile arfenal. In the courfe of his fpeech, Mr. Manning entered into a definition of what was to be confidered as booty, which he confined to the defcription given under the Prize Act, and stated as his opinion that the rights of conqueft confifted merely in the exercife of legal fovereignty; the laws of war only applied to the inftances in which a place was taken by ftorm, and could not be supposed to exift with refpect to the fubjugation of an extended terri tory. He concluded, that the object of the motion was to call for a difavowal of the proclamations; it was only calling upon ministers to do in public what they had already done in private, by inftructions fent to the Weft Indies, annulling thofe proclamations. Confidering that difavowal to be neceflary upon principles of reafon, juftice, and found policy, he felt himself ftrenuously bound to concur in fupporting the motion. Mr. Grey faid, that though on a former occafion when this fubject was started, he had been anxious to offer himself as late as poffible to the attention of the Houfe; after the two extraordinary fpeeches which they had just heard, extraordi nary he would call them, as applied to the motion which they were intended to fupport, he felt himfelf equally anxious to rife as foon as poffible, in order to obviate the effects which they were calculated to produce. If the Hon. Gentlemen had really felt the reluctance which they pretended to bringing forward the motion, the difavowal of the proclamations which had taken place in confequence of the letters of the Secretary of State, might have fufliciently fatisfied their apprehenfions as to any confequences that might have been produced in the Weft Indies. If they had been fincere in the with which they had expreffed, of not giving pain to the feelings of gab lant commanders, would they have had recourfe to the line of argument which they had adopted, in bringing forward a motion, which, though not in itfelf a charge againft thofe commanders, was fupported by charges, which, if true, there was no punishment for their delinquency, which could be too fevere? If thefe proclamations had been attacked merely upon the general principle; if ground of accufation had not been fought from matter not at all connected with the proclamations (that they they might be carelefsly worded he would not deny), he would have left it to others better acquainted with the law of nations to have undertaken their defence, and not have come forward on a queftion, with refpect to which he felt more anxiety than he had ever experienced in any former difcuffion. As to one commander in whofe conduct he was particularly interested, and to whofe character the Hon. Mover had ftated that there did not exist the smalleft reproach, but whose conduct that Hon. Gentleman had been pleafed to ascribe to mistake, inadvertence, or misinformation, expreffing at the fame time a hope that the teftimonial would not be difdained by him that teftimonial, he muft fay, loft its value from what had followed; when he heard of the inhuman and avaricious conduct of British commanders, when he heard of their rapacity and oppreffion, as calculated to fix a stain upon the British name, and to fet to their enemies an example of the most dangerous retaliation, if he muft not fay that he did not difdain a tribute of applaufe, followed up with fuch epithets, he at least would say that to him it had no value whatever. The two Hon. Gentlemen had fupported the motion upon different principles, which though not very distinct in their statement, he would endeavour to feparate in the difcuffion. It had been afferted firft, that the proclamations were contrary to the principles of the law of nations; to the Hon. Gentleman's conftruction of the law of the nations, it might; but the argument was new to him, and he believed to every body elfe, But though the objection had been made on the ground of principles, it had been chiefly fupported upon an enumeration of facts. It had been broadly stated that every thing done at St. Euftatius had been done in the late expedition. There was fome confufion as to other topics. At one time the House were told of the danger of retaliation, in confequence of the cruelty experienced by the fubjects of the French government: At another the complaint was, that our own fupporters and allies had not been treated with proper regard. As to the cruelty experienced by fubjects of the French government, he had always heard that the present war on the part of the French was a war of plunder, rapine, and devastation; that it was carried on by them in oppofition to all order, humanity, and religion-the Weft India merchants had joined in this representation; but it now appeared that the fact was quite the reverfe-that the French were a moderate, humane, and equitable people, and that no apprehenfions were to be entertained from them, except fo far as they might be influenced to retaliation by the example of cruelty and oppreffion 3 H 2 afforded afforded by Great Britain, in the profecution of the conteft. It had been infinuated, that the misfortunes in Grenada and the other Weft India iflands had been owing to the oppreffion and rapacity of the British commanders: As well might they trace the difafters in Flanders to the fame fource. What could be more abfurd than to fuppofe that proclamations which had been annulled, and not acted upon, fhould have occafioned the fubfequent devaftations in Guadaloupe and Grenada? Objections had been taken to the manner in which the wording of the proclamations had been attempted to be explained. What, however, could be more evident than that by the expreffion, the value of the conqueft, nothing more was meant than the value of the property liable to be confifcated, and not furely the value of the fee fimple of the island? Great complaints had been made on account of the proclamations not having been tranfmitted to this country. Sir Charles Grey in his letter affigned the reafons why that had not been done. As to their being inaccurate, it appeared upon the face of the proclamations themfelves that the tranflations muft be inaccurate. On the fubject of the rights of conqueft, it had been ftated, that the moment refiftance ceafes, a legal fovereignty fucceeds; and the people who are fubjugated come under the protection of the conquerors. He always had understood, that when terms had been refufed, when the utmost resistance had been made, the perfons and property of the vanquished became fubject to the Sovereign whofe troops occupied their territory. Such was the doctrine which prevailed in the law of nations, and which was not carried in the proclamations beyond what was allowed by the mitigated practice of modern times. It had been ftated alfo that the foldiers had no right to booty, except of the defcription defined in the Prize Act. The Prize Act applied only to that fpecics of booty which belonged to the captors; it did not leffen the right of Majefty to that booty, which was uniformly the reward of conqueft in every inftance where refiftance had been pushed to its utmoft limits. Under this defcription of booty the proclamations included nothing but the ftores and produce of the planters, which had been manufactured and packed up for exportation before the 23d of March; and this booty had been affigned to the foldiers only under grant of his Majesty, and fubject to his future difpofal. By their proceeding on this occafion the commanders had fhewn themfelves anxious to maintain at once the rights of the Sovereign, and the difcipline of the foldiery. Even for the fake of the conquered country, fuch a procedure was perhaps the meft defirable. If the foldiers were not to be allowed what they felt to be a due reward of their labours, they would conceive that they had a right to take it. What they thus thankfully accepted as a boon, they would then extort by violence; and instead of a moderate contribution, a system of univerfal plunder would follow. The commanders then did not want for their conduct the apology which had been affigned them of mistake, inadvertence, or misinformation: They had acted from a fenfe of duty, from zeal for the rights of their Sovereign, and from regard to the difcipline of the troops under their command. Their conduct was even fuch as from enlightened views of policy would be found ultimately moft conducive to the peace and fecurity of the conquered country. On this occafion reference had been made to their inftructions. On infpecting thefe inftructions, he was blind enough to think that they furnished a complete vindication, not only for what they had done, but for what they intended to do. It had been fuppofed that there exifted no right to booty, except on the capture of a fortified place. So far was this from being fpecified, that in one copy of inftructions relative to booty, mention was made of what might be taken in a fettlement, and in another the general cafe was put of a conquered country. Even in inftances of capitulation a certain right of booty had been referved to the Sovereign and the troops; and in cafes of ftorm a larger proportion had been allotted to the foldiers, because they on fuch occafions were neceffarily expofed to a greater degree of fatigue and danger. Mr. Grey here quoted from hiftory examples of the practice to which he alluded. An Hon. Gentleman had mentioned what had taken place at St. Euftatius as a precedent of no good authority, and not very likely to be popular with the country. He had faid, that if another Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Burke), no longer a Member of that House, who had brought forward the conduct of the commanders at St. Eustatius, had been prefent, he fhould not have been under the neceflity of coming forward. He was reminded, indeed, that the Honourable Gentleman who complained of the conduct of Lord Rodney and General Vaughan, had after the 12th of April dropped all proceedings, and even handfomely faid, that "if there was a bald spot on the head of Lord Rodney he would cover it with a laurel." Would he then, after the brilliant fervices performed in the West Indies, have been the perfon to have come forward with a charge of crimination against the commanders at the head of the expedition? So much for the wording of the proclamation. He would next examine how far it had been acted upon. The moment that it had been known to the com manders |