Lord North rofe again, and declared, that he thought the entrance into a war at all times, a very ferious matter; but on the present occafion, he thought it ftill more serious, because that the war, which his Majefty had thought himself obliged to enter into, was a war with Holland, our old and natural ally, between whom and this country there had fubfifted an alliance for more than a century: an alliance formed on that broad line of policy, which originally pointed out the neceffity of it, and which had been a fource of great benefit to both countries. It was not, therefore, as his Majefty had been pleased to declare in his meffage, without the deepest regret, that he felt himself indifpenfibly obliged to put an

end

Euftatia, as also in America. His Majefty has always flattered him. felf, that in giving time to your High Mightineffes to examine to the bottom this conduct, fo irregular and so insufferable, they would have taken measures neceffary to reprefs the abuse, to restrain their fubjects within bounds, and to make them refpect the rights and friendship of Great Britain.

"The complaints which I have orders to make to their High Mightineffes, are founded upon authentic documents annexed to this memorial, where their High Might ineffes will fee with aftonishment, and I doubt not at the fame time with difpleasure, that their new governor, M. Van Graaf, after having permitted an illicit commerce at St. Euftatia, hath paffed his forgetfulness of his duty to the point of conniving at the Americans in their hoftile equipments, and the permitting the feizure of an English vessel, by an American pirate, within cannon shot of that island. And in aggravation to the affront given to the English nation, and to all the powers of Europe, to return from the fortress of his government the falute of a rebel flag. In return to the amicable reprefentations made by the prefident of the neighbouring ifland of St. Christopher, on these facts of notoriety, M. Van Graaf has anfwered in a manner the moft vague and unfatisfactory, refusing to enter at all into the fubject, or into an explanation of the matter with a member of his Majefty's council of St. Christophers, dispatched by the prefident for that purpose.

"After exhibiting the documents annexed, nothing remains with me but to add, that the King who had read them, not with lefs furprize than indignation, hath ordered me to exprefly demand of your High Mightineffes, a formal difavowal of the falute by Fort Orange, at St. Euftatia, to the rebel fhip, the difiniffion and immediate recal of Governor Van Graaf, and to declare further, on the part of his Majefty, that until that fatisfaction is given, they are not to expect that his Majefty will fuffer himself to be amufed by mere affurances, or that he will delay one inftant to take fuch measures as he fhall think due to the interests and dignity of his crown,

(Signed)

Given at the Hague Feb 21, 1777."

JOSEPH YORKE.

end to that alliance, and to commence hoftilities against the United States, who, in open violence of treaties, had not only refused to give Great Britain that affiftance, which thofe treaties entitled her to claim when attacked by the Houfe of Bourbon, but alfo in direct violation of the law of nations, had, for a long time contributed as far as they could, to furnish France with warlike ftores, and at length had thought proper to countenance the magiftracy of Amerdam in their infult upon this country, by entering into a treaty with the rebellious colonies of Great Britain, as free and independent ftates. He faid he would lay before the Houfe a fhort recapitulation of the many provocations given by the States General to Great Britain. By the treaty of Westminster, agreed upon in the year 1678; it was ftipulated, that in cafe Great Britain was attacked by the Houfe of Bourbon, fhe had a right to take her choice of either calling upon the States General to become parties in the war, and to attack the Houfe of Bourbon within two months, or of requiring an aid of 6000 troops and 20 fhips of war, which the ftates were to furnish immediately after the claim was made. His lordfhip faid this country had always preferved her faith with Holland; and had in confequence of a claim from the ftates, fent 10,000 of her troops over there, and fhewn herself ready on every occafion to perform all the conditions to which fhe had made herfelf liable. His lordfhip faid he would next ftate the particular offenfive parts of the conduct of the States General fince the commencement of the American war.

First, the fuffering Paul Jones, a Scotchman and a pirate, acting without legal authority from any acknowledged government, to bring Britifh fhips into their ports, and refit there; that faluting a rebel privateer at St. Euftatia, after fuffering her to capture two Britifh fhips within cannon fhot of their caftles and forts; and their countenancing the conduct of Van Berkel and Monfieur de Neufville, who had drawn up and figned a treaty of alliance with America as independent ftates, during their revolt from the authority of this country. His lordship then mentioned the feveral memorials delivered by Sir Jofeph Yorke; the firft was, when the war with Spain broke out, to claim the aid we were entitled to require, by the treaty of Weftminfter. To this purpofe a memorial was prefented at the Hague in June 1779, of which not the leaft notice was taken on the part of the ftates; two other notices had been fince delivered, when each fhared

fhared the fame fate. The reafon why minifters did not proceed to ftrong measures on these flights, his lordfhip faid, arofe from their earneft wifh to avoid a war with Holland, which induced them to catch at any thing that tended to make them flatter themselves that the States would yet do juftice to Great Britain, and comply with the obligation of their folemn treaty; the terms and conditions of which, were, as he had already faid, dictated by the foundeft policy, and on the ftri&t and punctual obfervance of which, the true interefts of both countries fo immediately and fo obviously depended, that they could not bring themfelves to imagine Holland could be fo blided by any arts of an infidious and treacherous power, (not more the natural enemy of Great Britain, than the natural enemy of the United States!) as to forfake and abandon her treaty, and affift the houfe of Bourbon in an unjust war, which she had commenced againft Great Britain. Strange and unaccountable as the conduct of Holland was, and detrimental as her ingratiude to this country muft in the end prove to herself, fuch had been the power of a French faction in Holland, that they had at length prevailed and deluded the States into a conduct equally iniinical to the ftadtholder, and inimical to Great Britain. The British miniftry, his lordship faid, had done all in their power to bring the States to a true fenfe of their intereft; and when the neceffity of the cafe obliged them to feize on Dutch ships carrying ftores to France, they had paid the full value for the. cargoes, and returned the fhips, fo that neither the private merchant, the private adventurer, nor the states, had suffered; France only had felt the measure by her being deprived of that affiftance, which the freights would have given her.

In answer to Mr. Burke's remark, that the treaty, the title of which had just been read, was nothing more than a contemplative project, his lordship said, it was actually figned and fealed, the names of the penfionary of Amsterdam and Monfieur de Neufville, a merchant and burgefs of that city, being subscribed to it on the part of the magiftracy of Amfterdam, and the name of John Lee, as commiffioner or agent for the Congress of America, but even allowing for the whole extent of the honourable gentleman's argument, furely when two powers flood connected together by folemn treaty and ancient alliance, as the ftates of Holland and Great Britain were, it made very little difference in the fcale of offente and provocation, whether a treaty like that of the penfionary Van Berkel, was fully ratified and confummated, or only in VOL. XVIII. progreffion.

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progreffion. But to put the matter out of queftion, let the honourable gentleman recollect, that the States General had refused to pay any attention to the requifition in his Majefty's memorial, delivered by Sir Jofeph Yorke, that proper notice might be taken of Van Berkel and his affociates; (as far as fuch a refufal could be implied by a contemptuous filence) and further, that fo far from difavowing the fact, or attempting to palliate it, the principal magiftrates of Amfterdam, not only avowed the whole tranfaction, but gloried in it; and exprefly declared, even to the States General, that what they had done, was what their indifpenfible duty required. His lordship took notice of the court of Madrid's having been induced, by the intrigues of the French cabinet, to fend a hostile refcript to the court of London; and obferved, that at one period of the enfuing campaign, England faw in her channel a combined fleet of the enemy, infinitely fuperior to the famous Spanish Armada. He faid, that he lamented the neceffity of a war with Holland, but faid it was an unavoidable meafure. The fituation of this country his lordfhip confeffed to be truly alarming; but when he confidered the powerful ftand that had already been made against the moft powerful confederacy that had ever been formed against Great Britain, the little fuccefs the enemies of this country had met with in all their various attempts against us, and the fpirit and refources of the nation, he did not fee that gloomy and uncomfortable profpect defcribed by the honourable gentleman who fpoke laft. Our difficulties were certainly great; but he trufted they were by no means infuperable. He was neither defirous of concealing their maghitude, nor afraid to meet them, great as they must be acknowledged; becaufe he was convinced, that when the force of this country was fully exerted, it was equal to the contest, and that the only means of obtaining an honourable and juft peace, was to fhew ourfelves capable of carrying on the war with fpirit and vigour.

His lordship took notice of what Mr. Burke had faid on the late adjournment, and declared, that it would have been equally agreeable to him, if the Houfe had fat the whole time; that with regard to the commencement of the war, the matter was by no means fo certain in the view of the King's fervants, as to render it incumbent on them to state the fituation of affairs to the Houfe, and to plead it as an argument for their continuing to fit during a recefs, which for various reafons was highly neceffary to many gentlemen. When the answer of the States was fent by Sir Jofeph

Yorke,

Yorke, in December 1780, and it appeared from it, that, inftead of going fully into the bufinefs, and coming to a fatisfactory determination upon the fubject of the frequent memorials, prefented on the part of Great Britain, the States had chofen to take the matter ad referendum, and put it off to a very late day indeed; it became then immediately neceffary for his Majefty to act with firmness, and not to lofe a moment, before he proceeded to endeavour at leaft to do himself juftice. His lordship concluded with producing, An humble addrefs of thanks to his Majefty from the Houfe for his moft gracious meffage, and for the regret with which he had entered into the war with Holland, a war which his Majesty had declared nothing but unavoidable neceffity had obliged him to undertake. The addrefs concluded with a most loyal affurance, that the Houfe would chearfully affift and fupport his Majefty against all his enemies: which addrefs, his lordfhip faid, was drawn up in language the most proper for the House to adopt, and he therefore moved it,

Lord Lewifham faid, he rofe to fecond the motion. His Lord lordship began with a recapitulation of former affairs. Every Lewisham. gentleman prefent knew, he faid, that the moft wanton wars against Holland had taken place in thofe periods, when the interefts of the crown and of the people had been distinct and different; hence, in the infamous reign of Charles the Second, they had been not more frequently than unjustly commenced. After the Revolution, however, when our glorious deliverer, William the Third, fwayed the fceptre of these realms, a very different line of conduct was adopted by us; that prince feeing, what every man must see, who has a juft fenfe of the true interefts of Holland and of Great Britain, that they are one and the fame, cultivated a friendfhip between the two countries; his minifters did the fame; the example was followed by the Whig minifters in the glorious part of the next reign, that of Queen Anne, and it had continued all the two fubfequent reigns, during the whole of which time, the ftates had reaped the greatest advantages from the alliance. It was not, therefore, without astonish. ment, that he now faw, what he had fcarcely thought poffible; namely, that a French party could have gained fo much prevalence in Holland, as to make her lofe fight of all policy, forget how intimately her welfare and profperity was blended with the welfare and profperity of Great Britain, how much The owed to this country, in the reign of Elizabeth, how much fhe was indebted to the fervices of that brave, that fuccessful commander, and no lefs wife and judicious nego

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tiator,