Colonel Palmer, on rising to make his promised motion, began with stating, that the motive which had urged him to address the House, was a conviction of the danger of the country, arising out of the conduct of the government with respect to Spain, and the language of the late address to his majesty upon the subject. He might naturally be asked, considering the protracted debate upon that question, the reason of his not having stated his opinion at the time; and confessed that his reluctance to obtrude himself upon the attention of the House, joined to the expectation that the same opinion would have been felt and expressed by others more worthy their attention, had prevented him in the early stage of that discussion, but that, he had repeatedly endeavoured to address the House upon the last night of the debate. Having then failed in such endeavour, and the question being equally, if not more important to the country at the present moment, he would take the liberty of stating the different view which he had taken of it, from that of every horn member who had hitherto spoken upon the subjects It appeared to him, that truth and sincerity were as necessary to the honour and interests of a nation at of an individual; and upon this ground he contended, that the late address should have openly expressed the indignation of the House at the conduct of France and the allied powers; because, by not expressing it, the nation was exposed to the charge of not feeling, or not daring to avow it. He also contended, that the address should as openly have stated, that inability of the country to render Spain assistance was the 1499 only reason and excuse foe withholding it, instead of motives unworthy of her character, and injurious to Her interests; inasmuch as she had thereby deprived herself of all claim to that gratitude and attachment on the part of Spain which a more generous conduct would have inspired, and whose independence, at all times essential to England, was at the present moment of vital importance to her interests, whilst, on the other hand, she had totally failed in that object which the cold and ttmid policy of the address was intended to answer; for, at the same moment, whilst as a nation the House had declined that expression of its feelings, which honour, truth, and justice called for; yet, as individuals upon all sides, they had spoken in terms much more calculated to provoke the consequences which the language of the address had deprecated, than the dignified censure which it ought to have contained; and lastly, whilst, to conceal the real motives of neutrality, they had avowed principles repugnant to every generous feeling, and only calculated to confirm that unjust impression of England, which the crooked policy of her government had long stamped in the minds of Europe; it stood but too plain upon the face of the whole transaction, that the conviction of her weakness alone, and the utter contempt of her means of resenting it, had encouraged France and the Allies to dare to act as they had done. He must admit, that from this feeling of necessity alone, it was almost the unanimous opinion of the House and country that peace should be maintained. But, did they not equally feel the danger, nay, the certainty of eventual war: and not as England ought to conduct it, by her navy alone, but wherein, as ministers had declared, she would have to bear the whole burthen, and incur again the same enormous, wasteful, and unnecessary expenditure as in the former instance? Looking, then, to the present state of the country—to the distresses of the landed and other interests—he could not but deplore the infatuation of the landholders, in supposing that a rise in prices, or any thing but a reduction of taxation could possibly relieve them. He was fully sensible of the importance of their interests, and that, as the hear was to the body, so was the agriculture to the country, its vital principle and the source from whence all its prosperity flowed; but as the heart was equally dependent 1500 upon the body, so was agriculture dependent upon the other interests of the country, and could not be supported at their expense. He remembered the appeal of the chancellor of the Exchequer to the country gentlemen in the last session, who told them they must not despair, because they could not have every thing always as they wished, but take their turn of good and evil with the other interests of the nation; that, at the time manufactures were at their lowest ebb, agriculture was in the full tide of prosperity;—and now, since agriculture had sunk, manufactures had risen; as if, like the buckets of a well; they must let one down to bring the other up. The comparison, however, was unfortunately too just, for agriculture could not possibly be raised by high prices; without sinking the manufactures; arid; unless both could be supported, he feared both would soon sink together. Looking, then; to these distresses, to the opinions and feelings of the people upon the subject, to the unanswered and unanswerable arguments of the numerous petitions for reform, carried by acclamation in the counties which had presented them; and, lastly, to the enormous and undiminished burthen of the public debt, now in the eighth year of peace—what would be the situation of the country when called upon to renew the contest, and to enter again into the ruinous expenditure which ministers had warned them to expect? And yet, to this appalling but true picture of its distress, their only answer was, that being true, it was the best argument for peace; "for if (said the Secretary for Foreign Affairs) "such is the situation of the country, and yet it must have war soon or late, in God's name let it be late. And thus the ministers, already duped and insulted, stayed to be kicked into it, whilst, in their address, they talked of defending the honour of the Crown, and the rights and interests of the people—But the House had been told, as another argument for peace, that the interference of England would injure Spain, by making the war popular in France; and it was to this their strongest and hitherto unanswered argument, he begged the attention of the House because upon it hung the whole question of the true policy of England at the present crisis, and which every consideration for her honour, security, and best interests should lead her to adopt. For how came it, that the French nation, so indignant at the conduct of its govern- 1501 ment, that ministers in their late speeches had anticipated the most fatal consequences from what they had termed this act of madness in the Bourbons, should, notwithstanding, turn round, and join their government against Spain, if England interfered in her behalf? What, he would ask, was the reason of this apparent inconsistency, but simply because such interference would be the act of a government, composed of nearly the same individuals, professing the same principles, and treading the same steps as that government which made war against the liberties of France at the commencement of her revolution, and continued to be her constant and inveterate enemy from that moment until the re-establishment of the Bourbon dynasty? But if, instead of such government, a government fairly representing the people of England, would declare war to-morrow, not against, but for the liberties of France, which, with her own, were now endangered by the base attack of one, or (upon the principle that those who permitted an injury were parties to the act) both their governments upon the liberties of Spain; such declaration: would in an instant rescue England from the humiliation, disgrace, and danger she stood in, and restore her to that proud footing amongst the nations of Europe, which she once held as the defender of their liberties. For England, by thus defending the liberties of France, conjointly with her own, would at once win the hearts of that nation, which, with herself, were unquestionably the greatest, most powerful, and enlightened nations of Europe; and; betwixt whom the real honour and interests of each would best be consulted by their mutual friendship; although the policy of their governments had hitherto, prevented it, by exciting and keeping alive those jealousies and antipathies; which, however natural and instinctive in the brute creation, were most unnatural, absurd, and barbarous betwixt christian states; and above all, these nations, who seemed by nature formed to cherish and protect each other—the one, invincible upon that element to which she owed all her real greatness, whilst the other was equally powerful on her side; and both of whom, combined, might defend not only themselves, but the whole world against the tyrants who oppressed it. It was an old saying, "when rogues fall out, honest men came by their due;" and thus, out of the disputes betwixt their 1502 governments, it was to be hoped the people would at last obtain their rights. As to the governments, although bad was the best, the conduct of the French ministers was infinitely more excusable, than our own; for it was but just to consider the difficulties of their situation, in having to support a crown, not only forced upon the nation, but which, from other unfortunate causes, required a more than constitutional force to protect; and this situation, too, not of their own seeking, but to which they had been forced by others, and above all, the ministers of England. For had the powers assembled at the congress, with England at their head, acted upon opposite principles to those adopted, and which had brought Europe to its present state, he firmly believed that France at this, moment would be enjoying the full benefit of hen charter, under the mild sway of the present sovereign. But it was too late to regret the past, and they had only to consider the best to be done at present. He would then ask, if any thing could be so advantageous to themselves and the rest of Europe, as that France and England should join hand in hand to protect the liberties of Spain? and if that was admitted, he would ask again, what should prevent it?—for in ordinary cases, wherein two parties influenced by the same motives, and looking to the same object, were prevented from acting in concert, by any misunderstanding, it was only to remove such misunderstanding and bring them together; and was there ever so glorious an opportunity of bringing France and England together as the present? when England by this bold, decisive, and generous step, would at once root out from the bosom of France every seed of that hatred and jealousy which she had so long borne against this country as the cause of all the disaster, defeat, and humiliation she had suffered, and above all, that indignity, which France never could forgive until England had acknowledged her error, and expressed her regret for the part she had taken in the transaction, not by the speeches of individuals in that House, but by her conduct as a nation—the restoration of the Bourbons. In saying this, he disclaimed all hostility to that unhappy family; and in justice to them, must defend a conduct which necessity alone had dictated, for the ultra faction in France, the Holy Alliance, and above all, the ministers of England, had 1503 compelled them to the steps they had taken. A noble lord, in his excellent speech on a former night, had said, that from a late residence in France, he had the best reasons for believing, that if England had said "No," France would not have dared to attack Spain; but the noble lord might have gone further, and told the House, that if England had acted as became her, and declared in favour of Spain, the head of the French government, who was universally known to be a liberal in his principles, and had no object so dear to his heart, as the liberties and happiness of his people would at once have thrown himself and people into the arms of England, and have called those ministers to his councils, who, in conjunction with England, might have set the despots of Europe at defiance. The folly and madness, not of the Bourbons, but of the English ministers, had prevented this; whilst the steps they had taken to avoid war, were the most likely to lead to it; for their only hope was, that France, by ruining herself in Spain, might be unable to annoy this country; but even if it should be so, could any thing be more detestable than the policy of looking to the security of England in the misery of France? His own feelings were quite the reverse; for, instead of reducing France, now in so flourishing a state, to the wretched condition of England, he would raise England to a level with France, and all the world if possible to the level of both. This was the true policy which humanity and the best interests of England dictated, and this was the moment for the Crown to exercise that prerogative which the constitution had given it, for the protection of itself and the people, to save both from the destruction which threatened them. For it was not in the wretched papers they had discussed, but in the speeches of the French ministers, and the corrupt majorities which had supported them, that the real danger of England was to be seen. For no one could look to their intentions openly avowed, the progress made in their execution, the pledges of the allied powers to support France, and their insolent threats against Spain on one side, and on the other, to the noble defiance which Spain had hurled at her invaders, as well as the glorious struggle which liberty was making against despotism in other quarters, without seeing, that the present contest admitted of no compromise, but that one 1504 or other party must inevitably perish. It was therefore to save those from becoming victims who were only the instruments of these base plots against the liberties of mankind; the acts not of themselves, but of the weak or wicked ministers who surrounded them; and to protect crowns as well as people, he appealed to the members of that House, the representatives of the only nation which, through the blessings of her constitution, was capable of the effort, to declare, in its collective wisdom, those sentiments which, as individuals, had lately done them so much honour; and as a nation, to raise that mighty voice in freedom's cause, which might at once decide the contest, and spare those sacrifices by which that cause must otherwise he obtained; for that it must ultimately triumph, no man of common sense, whose judgment was not blinded by his prejudice, could entertain a doubt. It was, therefore, not only for themselves, but for those much dearer, and upon whom the consequences of the present destructive system must inevitably fall; for their sakes, and in the name of that humanity which in a recent case, involved in dangers, doubts and difficulties on all sides, would in its zeal have borne down every obstacle, destroying even those it meant to save, but for the interference of the government, and that eloquence which, when exerted in the cause of reason, justice, and of truth, carried conviction with it; he implored them in this instance, to turn their eyes at home, and befriend the cause of suffering humanity in Europe, in a case which involved no danger, doubt, nor difficulty, but wherein those who opposed it in the name of religion, morality, and social order, had only to follow that plain precept, the essence of them all—simply to do by others as by themselves; and by this precept he called upon that House, the representatives of the nation (or at least, who ought to represent it), to do by the people as by themselves; and to defend, in their own honour and interests, the honour and interests of their country. Nor was it the interests and liberties of England only, but of all other nations, and with which the ministers had at last discovered her own to be identified; this great and glorious cause, the cause of liberty throughout the world, was in the hands of Eng land, and if her representatives would but defend it, the victory was certain.—The hon. member could say much more, and 1505 state how and by whom such victory was to be obtained; for as to the present ministers, whatever their real feelings might he (and he confessed he was unable to understand them, if they understood themselves), as the advocates and sworn defenders of that system which had brought the country to its present state, and which, in spite of all its sufferings, they still gloried in, and still at their public meetings pledged themselves to defend to their latest breath; in justice to their own consistency, and the feelings of the people, come what might, by their own system they were bound to stand or fall. Nor was it a mere change of ministers that could save the country, but a change of ministers combined with a change of measures, which might enable them to apply the resources of the country, and the energies of the people to the relief of their own burthens, without injury to the constitution or injustice to the public creditor for whilst he agreed entirely with his noble friend, who had stated it was the debt, the cursed debt, which weighed them down, as long as the country had the means of paying it, he considered the property of the public creditor to be equally sacred with that of every other description. But who, he would ask, in the present state of things, were the real friends of the public creditor? Those who would adopt every possible retrenchment which the safety of the constitution and real interests of the country would admit of, or the ministers whose measures must inevitably lead to those consequences which, looking to the French revolution arising out of the same causes, nothing but a change of system could possibly prevent. As to retrenchment, and all which the ministers had been driven to, session after session, by the exertions of their opponents, particularly the hon. member for Aberdeen, whose character and services no one could estimate more highly than himself, the only real advantage the public had derived from them, had been to open their eyes to the impossibility of any real retrenchment under the present system; for all the savings gained by it were more than counterbalanced by exposures, which only increased the resentment of the people, the difficulties of the ministers, and the necessity of all their power, patronage, and means of corruption, to support their measures. The hon. member concluded with stating that having availed himself of the oppor- 1506 tunity to express his feelings on this important subject, he had no wish to take the sense of the House upon the motion with which he should conclude which was "That an humble Address be presented to his majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid before this House, copy of any instructions given to sir William A'Court, for the regulation of his conduct in case of changes made by the Cortes in the internal government of Spain, or such extracts from them as may be laid before parliament without detriment to the public service."
§ The motion, which was seconded by Mr. Hume, was negatived without a division.